Prodigal
by NightOwlHoot
Summary: What if Annie returned the gun McQuaid gave her, what if Khalid was linked to Annie? What if she spent time with a very much alive Teo during her 4 months off the grid? What if she is regretting her decision to return and left the country in the middle of the investigation into the Chicago bombing? What if she needs more than surgery? Ryan, Arthur, Joan, Teo & Eyal, plus others.
1. Chapter 1

All characters created and developed by CA, just using my imagination to fabricate other plot lines.

Chapter 1 : The Gift

Back in apt after return from Venezuela. Annie has showered and is on her computer doing mundane things like checking her email and setting up accounts when she hears some noise at door, then two knocks. She looks and sees the package left at her door.

Amused by the package she discovered at her door that arrived in an envelope from McQuaid Security, Annie wondered how McQuaid located her residence. It's a little unsettling. She examined the package cautiously before opening it. Once she saw that it was a hand gun, a Beretta Px4 Storm to be specific, she lifted it out of the case and felt the weight of it in her hands. Annie smiled as she took aim with it, then paused as if she realized the implication of accepting the gift. She doesn't trust McQuaid at all, he offered to team up and help her capture Borz, but when she refused, he left her cuffed on the sidewalk. Of course, she didn't need him to get out of her predicament, but the fact that he made that move was disappointing and petty. Annie did not like McQuaid or any PMC she had come across as a covert operative for the CIA. They were all in the same bucket, brash, trigger happy, adrenalin junkies.

Annie kept thinking about what made McQuaid tick and what he was after with Borz. Clearly he was hiding something. But he did prove himself trustworthy when he helped her after she collapsed fighting Borz. She had successfully neutralized Borz, but collapsed as a result of the chase and fight. It was unfortunate that McQuaid had to learn of her condition, but if he had not come along when he did, she wasn't sure where she'd be now. Certainly if her agency found out, she'd be out of a job already. But McQuaid said it was none of the agency's business and his doctor helped her get the meds she needed to recover. She wasn't quite sure how long she could keep the agency from learning her secret and she hated being indebted to someone like McQuaid. She wasn't sure if he would use it against her like Eyal had warned. Her myocarditis was something that could be exploited.

Annie placed the beauty back in the case. She ran her fingers over the piece one last time before closing the case and putting it back in the envelope. She had made up her mind.

Knowing to not take risks on her own computer, Annie always used various hotel business centers to log on for cover. She goes to a big DC hotel, blending in as if she were a hotel guest, she logs online in the business center. Annie writes a message to Lisa Morton's doctor describing her recent collapse and asking if further tests need to be done. She also asks for a refill of her nitrate medication. While online she also writes a message to her old friend Eyal Levin, events unfurled so quickly upon her return that she had no chance to make contact with him. She left a message on a secure board they set up to let him know she was okay. She promised to check in with you periodically after saying good-bye in Jerusalem.

Back home before turning in with her chef's knife on her bedstand, Annie thinks to herself before falling asleep, that she better get herself a gun tomorrow.

The next morning, Annie is up early and ready to return to Langley to tackle a mountain of reports, debriefs about Venezuela and Columbia. All this meant working professionally with Auggie again. She both looked forward to it and had had pangs of guilt. She would have to continue to lie to him, someone she trusted, but she had no choice. He would be duty bound to report her condition and as her friend, he wouldn't want her to risk working in the field with her condition. But before work, she stops off at McQuaid Security with the package.

As soon as Annie walks into the building a very professionally dressed fresh faced young man greets her with a warm welcome. Annie ascertains that he is not just a receptionist, he is probably also some sort of security guard and probably recently discharged from one of the armed forces.

With a bright smile, he says, "Welcome to McQuaid Security, how may I help you?"

Right away Annie sees the numerous hidden cameras trained on the reception area. There were cameras outside, but the sheer number of cameras inside as well was telling to Annie. McQuaid was definitely into security.

Annie smiles at the receptionist and says, "I have something that belongs to Mr. McQuaid," while she places the package on the counter. As soon as Annie utters those words, two armed guards approach confiscating the package to put through security screening. Simultaneously, another suited guard politely, yet firmly asks Annie to follow him while leading her toward an unmarked door. Just then, Arthur Campbell walks into work flashing his recently issued ID. Arthur had not seen Annie since her return and is obviously surprised and happy to see her.

"What seems to be the problem here?" queries Arthur to the suited guard with his hand on Annie's elbow.

Annie is also glad to see Arthur and says, "I thought I heard a rumor about you working for McQuaid Securities, I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself."

The security guard says, "Mr. Campbell, sir, do you know this woman?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"Sir, she came with a suspicious package for Mr. McQuaid and upon inspection it contained a fire arm."

"I just wanted to return it to McQuaid, it belongs to him." says Annie.

Arthur knowing that Annie doesn't play games or have any nefarious motives, says, "Gentlemen, she's cleared and she's with me. Annie, it's so wonderful to see you back and well, come up to my office, I'm sure Joan can spare you for a few minutes (said with raised eyebrow).

Annie looks at Arthur and thinks of everything they had gone through because of Henry Wilcox and everything he had lost. She wished she had been able to help Teo. She would have liked to work with him more. His dedication though fueled by revenge and retribution gave him a drive that she not only admired, but drew from during her months in the dark. She told herself and if he could sacrifice family, a loving father, a chance at a real life, than she had nothing to complain about. He went years without any real connection or relationship except to the very terrorists he was trying to bring to justice. She above all understood loss, but she hadn't lost or given up nearly as much as Teo had. Back to Arthur's voice, telling her about how he knew McQuaid and why he took the job, she could sense that while he was happy, he still had sadness in his eyes.

Annie says to Arthur, "It's barely seven, you're up and out early for a new dad. Congratulations by the way!"

"Oh, you have to meet MacKenzie soon. He's been such a joy in our lives, makes everything worth it you know. Take it from an old geezer, don't wait too long to start your own family. He's been keeping me young, but the night wakings certainly don't do much to stave off aging."

Annie chuckles, but inside she knows that family of her own isn't in her future.

Meanwhile McQuaid, already in briefings and on international calls since 5:30 in the morning was alerted to the arrival of a blond woman dressed in the requisite CIA black pant suit stating she had something to return to him. Before even reviewing the security footage, his lips curled into his mischievous grin. He knew exactly who it was, and while he was disappointed, he wasn't surprised. He sent a text to his guards to show the blond to his office until he finished his conference call. The guards returned his text saying, the woman was now the guest of Arthur Campbell and was in his office.

Back at Arthur's office, Arthur looks at Annie shaking his head. He says, "So, you're back after, what was it, eight months away? How are you? I don't know first hand, but I've seen what being on your own, totally untethered can do to an operative. . ."

Annie responds, "You're referring to Helen?"

"Yes, Helen, Ben, Teo, and a couple of others still out there off book. I have no way to help them now that I am not with the agency, but you, I can help. Are you getting counseling through the agency? I know Joan has told you it's available."

Annie smiles, "Thank you Arthur, but I'm fine. I took a much needed vacation and decompressed." She didn't want to mention Henry's name, his name didn't deserve to be uttered in the presence of Arthur.

Arthur sighs and looks down, no one notices McQuaid as he stands near Arthur's doorway.

"Annie, you were, and are more than just one of my former operatives. Listen, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? You still haven't met MacKenzie and I know Joan would love to see you socially. How's seven tonight sound?"

"Seven sounds good to me Arthur! I'd love to meet your boy too," says McQuaid as he makes his entrance.

Annie turns around to see a smiling McQuaid.

Arthur, "Well, the more the merrier! I know the both of you have met under some stressful circumstances, tonight will be a chance to forget about all of that business."

" Uh, Arthur, thanks for the invitation, but shouldn't you check with Joan first?"

"Nonsense, she wanted you to meet MacKenzie ever since he was born, and she's so thrilled you are back, besides I'll probably be the one cooking, have been doing a lot of it recently with the new addition."

Annie pauses a bit, "Okay, Arthur, I'll be there at seven."

McQuaid addresses Arthur, "See you in the Alpha conference room in five minutes."

Then McQuaid turns to face Annie while flashing a grin and says, "You see, we're getting that dinner together after all." Annie rolls her eyes as she walks with McQuaid towards the elevators. She says, "I came to return this and remind you that I don't mix business and pleasure. Thank you, but I can procure my own gun."

McQuaid looks hurt and surprised, "Come on, consider it a thank you for getting me out of a hairy situation in Venezuela. You needed one and I thought this would look good on you. It's my personal favorite, I have one myself."

Annie holds out the gun case to McQuaid, "Yeah, I noticed you carry a Beretta Px4 Storm, but we got out together, no one owes anyone anything."

"Okay, have it your way, but one way or another you'll shoot this gun one day. Maybe when you see the light and come to work for me. I'm setting it aside for you," says McQuaid confidently.

"Don't hold your breath."

Annie walks away as McQuaid shouts towards her back, "I'm an ex-Seal, I can hold my breath a long time".

Annie holds up her hand making an okay sign as she continues to walk towards the elevators to head toward Langley.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 : Back to Work**

Once at Langley, Annie gets to work on her after action reports on Maracaibo and getting into Columbia with McQuaid. She was always extremely detailed in her reports and she felt a pang of guilt as she left out the part about how she lost some time after tracking down Borz, but she had come this far and there was no going back. She began reading what Auggie found on Borz' contact from Latvia. She knows they are still digging on "The Postman" and trying to work on what else Borz had access to. She makes a list of avenues to explore, decides they need to look more into Oksana's contacts to see where they will lead and dig deeper on Khalid Ansari's business, bank accounts, and real estate holdings abroad and in the US. There was something missing. Annie takes notice when Auggie strolls into work at close to 9am. He walks towards her desk, she pretends not to notice until he is right next to her desk.

Auggie stops by and says, "Glad you are back, again. Seems like you never quite get settled in before stuff happens. Listen, we're working on a new NOC for you, all the details will be put in place by this afternoon. I'll call you when we're done."

" A new NOC? Do I really have time for that? There's a lot we need to run down."

" You're used to being alone and doing things your way, but don't forget this is Langley. Come on, enjoy the perks of a glamourous NOC!"

Annie's phone rings, it's Joan wanting to see her.

"I have to go."

"Me too, have to go work on getting you some glam shots."

Annie smiles, she missed his sense of humor.

Annie arrives at Joan's desk.

"So, looks like I'll be seeing you for dinner tonight," says Joan.

"Um, about that, if it's not a good night, I completely understand, Arthur asked and made it impossible for me to say no."

"No, tonight's good, but I wanted to ask you what you were doing at McQuaid Security."

"Didn't Arthur tell you?"

"No, I'm asking you."

Annie is thinking, here we go again, why did their work relationship always take this turn? Or maybe there was some tension between Arthur and Joan.

"I was going to work on that paperwork after I finished my after action report on Venezuela and Columbia. I know all gifts need to be reported to the agency. McQuaid sent me a gun because I had to ditch mine in Maracaibo. I went return it."

"Thank you Annie, talk to Auggie about getting issued a new gun. Do you know how McQuaid found your safehouse?"

"I don't know, he's in the security business and he has made it clear he has access to CIA files."

"Do you feel safe knowing he has your address?"

"I'm fine Joan, I need to get back to my reports."

"Annie, the real reason I called you over here wasn't to give you a hard time about Ryan's gift. Seems like you grew on him during your mission together. I know Ryan a bit, he's not one to lavish gifts on any woman. Bear that in mind. I see that you haven't made an appointment with the therapist yet. You returned after four months off the grid and circumstances called you into the field, but you have yet to finish your debriefs and evaluations. Also, all agents returning from extended periods under deep cover are required to go through therapy or as many needed to determine continued reliability and responsibility in the field. I took the liberty of making you an appointment for your first session this afternoon at 3PM."

"Joan do you really think now is the time for me to sit with a shrink when we have so much to run down? You know I am mentally able to handle the job."

"Now is exactly the time before we send you off into the field again. I'll see you tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Therapy Session #1

Annie very reluctantly goes to the Office of Medical Services for her appointment with a clinical psychologist. She went through and passed a large battery of psychological tests before she was accepted for training at the Farm, but she had not spoken to a psychologist or any therapist extensively since. Most covert agents who faced as many unique threats and unpredictable stressful circumstances as Annie had the last couple of years would have been pulled from the field for extensive evaluations. The evaluations, debriefs, polygraphs after polygraphs, and therapy usually took months before the team of evaluators determined reliability in future clandestine missions.

Annie waits nervously in the waiting room. During that time she thought about how

therapy had been suggested to her numerous times, but never ordered. She always managed to avoid an appointment due to being assigned to time sensitive and critical missions. Annie knew that upon her return from being gone she'd go through debriefings, polygraphs, and psychological testing to evaluate her physical and mental well-being. Eyal had worked with her on beating polygraphs. They practiced questions and scenarios many times before she felt ready to return. She also expected to be given a physical when she returned, but banked on the fact that the internist wouldn't focus on her heart. She knew further tests would only be ordered if the primary doctor flagged something. She had a plan to distract and disarm the doctor so that he would gloss over her heart. She could only hope the plan would work.

The receptionist says, "Annie Walker? Dr. Young is ready to see you."

Annie takes a deep breath and stands up. She walks into the therapy office. It is a simple room with a desk and shelves and sitting area with a loveseat and two arm chairs. The art work is simple warm gradations of colors on three panels.

"Have a seat Annie."

"Thanks," says Annie as she chooses an armchair.

The therapist was a woman in her mid-40s. She was dressed casually in grey wool pants and a lavender sweater set. She said, "Hello Ms. Walker, My name is Susan Young, I squeezed you in as a favor to Joan Campbell. We only have about 15 minutes today. It's not a lot of time. In the future, we'll schedule you for 55-minute appointments."

"Um, thanks for making time."

"Our sessions will be strictly confidential except where matters of security trump that confidentiality. I have the highest clearance, you can feel free to discuss any details of your missions past and present. I have been given full access to your personnel files and all your case files. If any material evidence is revealed that may impact ongoing clandestine operations or endanger assets or other operatives, I am obligated to report them to your superiors. We're here to talk and make sure you have not been negatively impacted by your past missions to the point where you can't adequately fulfill your duties as a covert operative."

"What were your thoughts when Joan ordered you here?"

"I thought I was here to talk about tracking down and taking out Henry Wilcox and the time I was off the grid?"

"We're here to talk about everything since you left the Farm, since you last sessions. I reviewed your files and I must say, I was surprised by how little there was to read considering all stressful situations you have endured."

Annie stammers, "Um, I've been busy?"

"I see that, I really do have to speak with Joan about her decisions to place you back in the field without being properly debriefed. I've seen many covert operatives come back with PTSD, anxiety, depression, excessive drinking, drug addition, or all of the above"

"None of those apply to me, Ma'am."

"Well, we'll determine that during our sessions together"

"Let's get back to our first question. Can you tell me about how you felt when Joan ordered you here?"

"That's not exactly the question you asked me initially. Your question was about my thoughts not my feelings."

"Impressive Annie, you are obviously an intelligent, detailed, and specific in your observations."

"My thoughts were, I have more pressing matters on my plate and as for my feelings, I felt annoyed that I had to stop analyzing our evidence."

"Interesting choice in words, you chose the word annoyed. . . any other feelings?"

"I have served this agency, this country, and by served, I mean I have hunted and killed to complete my missions. My head is clear, there are no issues that affect my work. I know this is a formality and you are asking valid questions, what can we do to move this along?"

"For today, we're out of time. Next time, let's explore your feelings about having to attend these sessions and your own assessment of your readiness for the field. We'll have a lot longer to delve deep next time."

Annie gets up with a weak smile. She heads towards the door after saying good-bye to Dr. Young.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Note: I rewatched the first couple of episodes of Season 3 (my second fave next to Season 5) last night and got inspired so I went back to this story I had abandoned. Nothing on TV is that inspiring or intriguing these days. Don't worry the others still have chapters to go, kids had spring break last week so I was playing with them all week and didn't get much writing done. Will update everything after I am done editing and tweaking. Enjoy and please review/comment.

Annie looked through all the cute clothing and toys at the baby boutique she stopped by on her way home from work.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" asked the cheerful voice of a young woman.

"A gift for my boss's son."

"You've come to the right place then! We have a huge selection of organic cotton clothing, feel it, soft isn't it?" asked the saleslady.

Annie felt the fabric and smiled, "I'll take this blue striped pajama set in the 9-12 month size."

"Great choice, I'll wrap it up for you."

"Thanks," said Annie as she continued to browse. She went to a shelf of books and stuffed animals. She picked up a book titled, "On the Night You Were Born," and read it. Annie thought the words were beautiful, so she brought it to the counter. "Would you ring this up and wrap it too?"

"Of course," said the sales lady.

Annie left the boutique with the shopping bag and headed home to change into something more casual for dinner. Her mind wandered as she drove back to her apartment. She wasn't looking forward to spending an evening with Ryan McQuaid, she didn't trust him or his motives. Her gut told her he was hiding something. She had no idea what he spent his hour with Borz on and even when she gave up the information on how she got information from Borz, Ryan gave up nothing. She thought about canceling, but when Joan called her into her office and said dinner at her home was fine, Annie couldn't back out. She decided to go to dinner and treat it as an operation. She would use the it as an opportunity to figure out what McQuaid was all about.

Another reason Annie didn't want to go was she herself was hiding something and she her relationship with Joan always had its ups and downs. Over the years their relationship was fraught with tension, but while Annie was hunting Henry Wilcox, things shifted. When Joan discovered her in New York while they both followed the same lead to Henry's funding, it seemed that she had a newfound respect and connection to Annie. Losing one of her operatives took a toll on Joan though she never really showed Annie how much she came to respect her. A very pregnant Joan was relieved that Annie was alive and mostly she was impressed at the feat Annie pulled off. On Annie's part, it felt good that day outside the jewelry shop, it felt good to have Joan in her corner, but now Annie was hiding something from her boss again. There was no way around it. Joan would bench her if she knew about her condition, she was sure of it.

When everything ended and Wilcox was no longer a threat to Auggie or the Campbells or herself, she learned that Joan had given birth to a healthy baby boy and Arthur though hurt, survived his stabbing. It was bittersweet for Annie. There was a homecoming waiting for her, undoubtedly another ceremony lauding her as a hero. Auggie, Calder, Joan, and Arthur were upbeat on the phone, but while Annie sat on that boat and watched Hong Kong harbor and the skyline disappear behind her, she felt far from celebrating.

Annie thought about everything that had happened since she faked her death. The new life that had emerged at the end of her months long ordeal and hunt for Wilcox only served to highlight the life she had taken, Wilcox's as well as her own. She was happy for Joan and Arthur, but her mind wandered to the people she had to hurt and lost over the last four years. To the world she was dead. The only people who knew the truth were affiliated with the CIA and Eyal Lavin. She wasn't ready to go back. She wasn't sure how she could ask for forgiveness from Danielle. Everyone expected her homecoming, but Annie wondered if she could delay the inevitable. The few days she spent with Auggie and Calder were tough, she was so used to operating alone, it was hard to be around people and especially people who knew Annie Walker not Jessica Matthews. Jessica Matthews was single-minded, she was a hunter with no connections and no qualms about doing what was necessary to complete her mission.

Things weren't the same with Auggie, they danced around each other awkwardly ever since their unexpected reunion. Their relationship had ended, but when Annie realized that Auggie slept with his former lover and wife, it hurt her to the core. She always knew his heart had the capacity to love completely and deeply, she saw it as his friend with Tash and Parker, but she thought what they had was different because of their foundation as friends and the trust they had in each other as operative and handler. She thought he thought so too, but they couldn't get past their jobs and the tensions their allegiance to work caused. Now months later, after the discovery that Helen was alive and had slept with Auggie before Henry killed her, the ease they once shared was gone and their relationship would likely never be the same again. Annie felt like another one of Auggie's string of women. She didn't doubt that he loved and cared for her, but they ran their course.

When she looked back at how he came to her apartment that day, the day Wilcox sucked her into his diabolical plans and asked to meet at Vesta, she shouldn't have kissed him back. She was still dealing with Simon and Russia. Auggie was a fantasy she had fallen for and gotten over, she had put him on a pedestal as the wise handler, sharp mind, and witty friend. As Annie sat on that boat, she decided she wouldn't return to D.C. just yet. It was impulsive and rash and there would be consequences, but she just felt a need to be alone a bit longer. While she was away hunting Wilcox, she had a lot of time alone, but it was filled with tension and anxiety. She was constantly on, her mind working angles and dissecting Henry's moves. Now that it was all behind her, she needed to find peace again. There was also something she had been meaning to do for months, now was the time to do it.

Annie still had some money on her and access to funds she had stashed while she was supposedly dead, so she decided to go to the last known location of where she had tracked Zarya Fischer with the new identity she left Russia under. Annie felt responsible for Simon's sister. She owed it to him to keep her safe and make sure she was taken care of. The sound of honking broke Annie's trip down memory lane. She pressed on the gas and headed back to her new safehouse. She felt uneasy knowing that McQuaid knew where she lived. She thought about asking for a new place, but he probably had the resources to figure out where she lived anyway. She would just have to be careful and she definitely needed a firearm soon.

Once home all Annie wanted was to plop into bed and relax, instead she washed up and changed into a pair of black jeans and put on a sleeveless shift with gold tones and layered necklace and gold studs. She reapplied her make-up and looked through her cabinets for a bottle of wine to bring over. She grabbed her leather jacket and the gift for baby Mac and headed to her building's garage. She had just gotten her motorcycle out of storage the day before and decided the best way to get to the Campbell home through D.C.'s rush hour traffic was to take her bike. She secured her packages to her bike and took off for the Campbell home.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: Continuing on my binge watching of Season 3, so can't get off this story now. I think I'll keep it shorter than the others, have an end in mind that is off topic from actual Season 5. . . and none of this is related to the other stories. Please review!

/ /

As Annie zipped through D.C. traffic, she thought about the time she rode on the back of Simon's bike in Cuba. Zipping around a tropical island with the breeze on her skin was one of the best ways to spend a day. After she recovered from her gunshot wounds and before she left to hunt down Lena she bought herself a Ducati, a sort of tribute to Simon. There was no grave for her to visit so her Ducati became her somewhat practical memorial to Simon and their ill-fated love.

Annie stopped her bike next to a large black Mercedes G-Class SUV. It was a tank of a car, definitely flashy, probably worth more than 125K, it was the kind of car Simon liked too. She wasn't sure why he was on her mind so much all of a sudden, she did miss him and there was so much she wanted to ask him. The red light held her there for a moment so out of curiosity Annie looked over to her right and saw none other than Ryan McQuaid's face through the window. His left thumb was tapping on the steering wheel impatiently. He must have felt her stare because he looked over and his eyes stared into the darkened helmet. He didn't know it was Annie. Her hair was swept up into a bun and tucked into her helmet, which covered her entire face. Annie smiled, it always gave her satisfaction knowing that she knew something someone else didn't, that she had a mask on and was pretending to be someone or something else. It came with ease, probably because she had moved so much as a child that she used each move as an opportunity to reinvent herself, it was her way to cope with moving and address the issues that prevented her from making lasting friendships at the previous locations. It was a fantastic attribute for a spy and her past as an Army brat was good training grounds for her life as an operative for the CIA. When the light turned green, she left the Mercedes SUV in the dust and smiled as she did it.

Ryan couldn't move, though the light was green. He would block the intersection if he did. He thought the person on the bike next to him was a rubbing it in when she revved her engine and plowed forward through the traffic. From the silhouette he could tell it was a woman with a petite frame. Ryan hated being late, he prided himself in being punctual at all times. Judging by the traffic, he'd be ten minutes late to dinner, so he called the Campbell home to apologize. He wanted to make a good impression with Joan, but especially with one Annie Walker who had snubbed him already by returning his gift. She didn't think much of him, but he couldn't stop thinking about her and he enjoyed the challenge she posed. He enjoyed getting under her skin and challenging her as much as he enjoyed watching her work. He had to admit he could learn a thing or two from her and so could his field operatives.

/ /

Annie was a few minutes early so she parked her bike down the street from the Campbell home and walked so she wouldn't be too early. She rang the doorbell and was warmly greeted by Arthur. "Welcome Annie!"

They hugged and Arthur took her jacket and helmet.

"Joan is just changing Mac, they'll be right down."

"Thank you for having me."

"Here you go, I hope red goes well with dinner and a little something for Mac."

Joan walked down the stairs just as Annie hands the gifts over to Arthur. "Look who's here Mac! This is Annie."

"Wow, Joan, he's a lot bigger than I imagined. He's absolutely adorable. I'm so happy for you and Arthur."

"They grow up so fast. I can't believe he's almost five months old. It was about time you met him," said Joan and Annie knew veiled in the comment was Joan's disapproval of her time away so she changed the subject.

"I hope the gift will fit."

"Let's take a look Mac!"

Joan opened the package and held the pajama set up to Mac, "Oh, this will fit him, it feels so cozy, thank you!"

"May I hold him?"

Joan hands the baby over to Annie. "Back to why you're only meeting Mac now, we do still need to talk about your time away, but not tonight. Hang out with Mac while we finish dinner."

Annie smiled, trying her best to hide her concern. Joan might not let things go.

"McQuaid called, he's running about 10 minutes behind."

"Annie just go through there, a bunch of Mac's favorite toys are on the floor, he likes to just sit and grab things off the floor in front of him, his back still needs support."

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"Just some water please."

Annie played with Mac on his playmat for a few minutes before she heard the doorbell ring.

Joan called from the kitchen, "Annie would you mind opening the door? It's probably Ryan, we've both got our hands full."

Annie lifted Mac up and walked to the door.

Almost never caught off guard, Ryan was surprised to see Annie open the door with a baby in her arms.

"Uh, hi, I'm sorry I'm late," said the man bearing a bouquet of flowers and wine.

"Got caught up in traffic?" asked Annie with a sly smile.

"Yeah, traffic was terrible, you didn't hit any?"

"I gave myself plenty of time, come on in, Joan and Arthur are busy in the kitchen," said Annie.

"And this little man is Mackenzie Campbell?"

"The one and only!" said Annie as she smiled at the baby and spoke to him in a high pitched voice. "You want to get back to playing don't you?" Annie took Mac back to the family room.

"Is that Ryan?" called Arthur as he emerged from the kitchen with a towel in his hands. "We're nearly done with dinner, want a drink?" Ryan looked back towards Annie's direction, but followed Arthur to greet his hosts.

"Sure, I'll have whatever you're having."

"Scotch on the rocks coming up."

Annie went back to the family room where she sat down with Mac and played with him. She felt Ryan's eyes on her back, her instincts were always on, her scalp tickled as she walked away.

Ryan greeted Joan warmly with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You've come a long way since you were last here to dinner Ryan."

"What was that? Nearly 10 years ago?"

"More like 15, don't depress me Ryan," said Arthur.

"Ah, you gotta feel young with a little boy in the house."

Arthur and Joan looked in the direction of the family room where Annie was splaying with Mac. "I do, but we are a bit over the hill to be having a toddler to chase after. Take it from me, don't wait too much longer to settle down and start a family."

"It's not like we didn't try, life is just funny sometimes," said Joan remembering how she and Arthur struggled with infertility for years before giving up on having children.

"So Ryan? Do you ever about settling down again?"

"Haven't had the time and haven't come across anyone who has been worth pursuing."

"Really? After all these years? Aren't you one of D.C.'s most eligible bachelors?" asked Ryan. Joan caught Ryan looking to Annie's direction and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh that just brings my way the types of women I'm not interested in," Ryan laughed. "I try to stay out of the limelight."

Yeah right, thought Annie. He ate it up, she was sure he loved the attention and publicity his company got. She had done some research on him and from what she read she determined he was brash, a daredevil and excitement junkie. Perhaps they had some qualities in common, but she couldn't trust a man who profited off of the kind of work she did for the CIA.

"Just gives us another five minutes and dinner will be ready." Arthur tilted his head towards the family room. "Why don't you see if Annie needs a hand with Mac." Arthur knew Ryan was interested in Annie, he had many queries about her after Annie left the McQuaid Securities offices that morning.

Joan looked Arthur's way, wondering if he picked up on Ryan's obvious interest in Annie. Little did she know that Ryan had picked his brain about Annie and he had revealed what he little he could about Annie. Joan's mind flipped through the reports Annie wrote after her encounter with McQuaid in Chicago and then Venezuela. She recalled that Annie didn't want Ryan's help at first, but in the end she made the right decision and they were able to make it out together. She wondered what changed Annie's mind. Was Ryan that persuasive?

/ /

Ryan went to join Annie in the family room. She heard his footsteps approaching. He found her incredibly attractive and it had been a long time since he found anything or anyone distracting him as much as she had. He wanted to get to know her, find out more about her than he read in the files he had accessed.

"You look at home,"

"Pardon?"

"Not at home here, but at home with the baby."

"One of my first jobs was as a mother's helper," said Annie as she continued to play with Mac and talk to him about the things he was holding and seeing. Spending time with Mac reminded her of the years she lived with Danielle and her family and helping to take care of her nieces when she was on break from college and graduate school, but those were personal details she didn't need McQuaid to know. She was the default babysitter and she enjoyed it very much. The sweet babies grew into cute girls who loved to play dress up and color. She missed them very much.

"You have a great pedigree little man, your dad was something else back at the Naval Academy, a legend."

"And your mom isn't too shabby herself, she runs an entire department at the CIA," said Annie.

The sun was setting and it's final rays had hit the spot where Annie and Mac were sitting on the rug. There seemed to be a halo over her blond head and when Annie looked up she caught Ryan staring at her. He simply smiled at her. His wide grin looked genuine and she smiled back. Just then Arthur walked into the foyer, "Dinner's on the table."

"Need a hand?"

Ryan held out his hand to help Annie get up from the floor. She looked at him and didn't accept his offer. She stood up and then bent down to pick up Mac. She blinked a few times before deciding to hand the baby off to him. He seemed taken aback, he wasn't quite sure what to do with a squirmy and drooling baby, but Mac squealed in delight as Annie shook a toy in front of him and Ryan laughed.

Annie placed the burp cloth she had on her shoulder over his shoulder, "For the spit up and drool, don't want to ruin that expensive suit," She hadn't touched him since the Chiva they took to Columbia and when her hand rested for a moment on his shoulder to smooth out the burp cloth, he felt a warmth and sensation he hadn't felt in many years.

"Thank you," said Ryan.

"Just hold him like that, but you can move him closer to your body for support, that is unless you're worried about your clothing."

Annie started towards the dining room where Joan took Mac from Ryan and placed him in his high chair. Annie sat across from McQuaid and was uncomfortable every time she looked up and saw him.


	6. Chapter 6

The dinner table was awkwardly quiet during most of the salad course. Arthur, Joan, Ryan and Annie didn't seem to find the right rhythm of conversation topics that didn't cross any lines. It seemed like everything any of them could think of was off limits. Ryan tried to ask about Joan's investigation into Chicago, Joan referred to McQuaid's connection to Borz and her surprise at Ryan going into the field. Meanwhile Annie was enjoying the scene. She hadn't had many opportunities to see Joan in that light and as a guest she was glad she didn't have to be the one poking at McQuaid. But Arthur in his suave and debonair manner steered the conversation to safe topics. After some banter about first jobs and family life, the main course ended abruptly before dessert when Joan received a call. Annie received a call shortly after Joan got off the phone.

It was Auggie with news on the Postman.

Annie needed to head out and get back to Langley.

"Can't it wait until after dessert?" asked Arthur.

Both Annie and Joan say in unison, "No, it can't."

"I'll wrap some dessert up for you and Auggie, while you get your things," said Joan.

When Arthur retrieved Annie's jacket and helmet, Ryan immediately recognized them as the same ones the woman on the motorcycle who rode up next to him had one. Annie took the jacket first and Arthur always a gentleman helped her put on her jacket. Next Annie, wrapped her golden locks into a low bun and secured it with an elastic that was on her wrist. Arthur handed her the helmet, which she held under the arm as she thanked her hosts. The entire time Ryan watched her dumbfounded, motionless. She was looking more and more badass and he liked what he saw. He couldn't quite figure her out, he wouldn't have pictured her in a motorcycle, he pegged her for the sort who drove a standard American sedan, all those patriotic types were the same with their Fords and Chryslers and he already knew she didn't like flashy. American cars were far from flashy. But now he could see it. There was a rebellious streak in her, he knew it because he had the same streak.

"We'll have to have a whole dinner another time," said Joan handing Annie a Tupperware with tiramisu in a small brown shopping bag.

"Thank you, dinner was delicious, and that Mac, he's precious. I'm really happy for the both of you."

"We owe a lot of it to you Annie," said Arthur. Ryan wondered what Arthur was referring to and he was going to find out once he had a chance.

Ryan said, "I'll walk you out."

"No troubles, I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," replied McQuaid exiting after Annie. "I'll be right back," he said to Arthur.

Joan and Arthur looked at each other. "We'll clear the plates for dessert, coffee?"

"Sure, thank you," said Ryan.

"Joan, I'll call you later."

"Is this about Chicago?"

The ladies look at Ryan as if he were violating an unspoken rule. They ignore his query.

Joan hugged Annie and whispered, "I'm glad you're back Annie, let's go have coffee soon and talk about the last four months."

"I'm an open book Joan," said Annie.

/ / /

Outside the Campbell home, Ryan let Annie lead the way.

"So it was you," said Ryan.

"Excuse me?" asked Annie.

"On the way here, you rode up next to my car and revved your engine."

Annie smiled as she said, "I don't know what you're talking about McQuaid, enjoy the rest of dinner."

Oh so, this was how she was going to toy with him. He decided he could take it. "Let's go riding over the weekend. I have a couple of bikes myself, it's beautiful along the Potomac, or you could ride on the back of my Harley," said Ryan with a wink.

Of course you have a couple of bikes, thought Annie. The only man's bike she had ridden on was Simon's and Ryan wasn't about to get that distinction.

"I usually ride alone."

"I see, you know you can't live like you're still dead." It irked Annie that he thought he had her pegged, but he was right in some respects. She wanted to focus only on work and keep everyone at arms length, but in part to protect them and to protect her secret. It was easier to be standoffish and alone, it was easier than dealing with questions and having to lie.

"When I told you I don't mix business and pleasure. I meant it Ryan. It wasn't just a line to get you off my back."

Of course he remembered, he remembered the content of all their conversations. He nodded. Ryan was always the sort to go after and get what he wanted and it had been a long time since he was attracted to someone as much as he was attracted to Annie so he let it all out there. "Listen, I don't do this often, actually I've never done this, I don't usually meet women through my line of work, women who understand what it is I do. Now I think you're someone I can talk to about a lot of things and I think you can talk to me too. I'd like to get to know you better, what do you say?"

"We're after different things Mr. McQuaid. Maybe you're accustomed to blurring the lines, but I'm not, this is a non-starter."

"We're on the same side Walker, we're after the same things."

"Really? Then why won't you tell me why it was so important for you to track down Borz Altan and why you won't let the CIA in on what you wanted from him?"

Ryan looked down and rubbed his chin, he wanted to tell her, but he couldn't, he hardly knew her and he was still investigating the leak in his organization. It could have ended with Borz, but he had a feeling, it went deeper.

"Nothing to say?"

"Look, I'd tell you if I could. I just can't."

"Even if it is material to my investigation?"

"It's not."

"Let me be the judge of that," retorted Annie. They had reached her bike.

He shook his head.

"Good-bye McQuaid," said Annie as she climbed aboard her motorcycle, donned her helmet, and then rode off.

Ryan walked back to the Campbell residence thinking about what Annie had said. Could Borz have used his clearance at McQuaid to help the perpetrators of the Chicago bombing? He was from Chicago, but how would he have known about the location of the facility or the protocols they had in place? Who else could he have been working with? He recruited his brother and sister, how did McQuaid miss the brother's trips to Yemen in his company's background checks? And what of Annie Walker and her insistence on not mixing business and pleasure? What happened to her that made her that way? He had little information to go on about her, but he was determined to crack her. Sooner or later, he would get her to trust him.

/

Ryan was quiet when he walked back into the Campbell household and the espresso machine was going so the Campbells didn't hear him coming in. He heard Joan telling Arthur that he couldn't betray confidence to Ryan of the things he learned while working at the CIA, he had an obligation to the agency above McQuaid Securities. "I understand that honey and he hasn't asked me to reveal any classified information he isn't already privy to, the man has as much clearance as the government allows a PMC and he's very well connected on the Beltway, he doesn't need me for information."

"Oh he does need you, why else would he hire you?"

"To help an old mentor out," said Arthur.

Ryan made some noise with his footsteps. "That coffee smells great!"

"Come on, have a seat."

They spent the entire dessert talking about Ryan's years at the Naval Academy and his subsequent career with the Navy SEALS. Eventually Joan went to put Mac down for the night and the two men were left alone.

"Look Arthur, I don't want to put you in an awkward position, but I like Annie. Not just romantically, she would be an asset and wonderful addition at McQuaid Securities."

"Anyone would be lucky to have her, she is one of the best operatives to have worked under me and you know I don't give out compliments easily."

"Believe me, I'm well aware of that Arthur," said Ryan with a chuckle.

"I was tough on you huh?"

"You were," agreed Ryan.

"I offered her a job while we were in Venezuela," said Ryan.

Arthur's eyes opened wide. Joan would not like to hear that McQuaid was poaching top operatives from the CIA.

"And she declined."

"Yep!"

"One thing you have to know about Annie, she's extremely loyal and she's loyal to the agency she's served despite. . ." Arthur caught himself before he said, "despite the difficulties of the job and the long hours and sacrifices,"

"And the red tape, the little pay and lack of appreciation for those sacrifices. Look you're on the other side now, you have to know there is an upside to being a patriot in the private sector."

"There would have to be a pretty compelling reason for Annie to leave the CIA and I just don't' see it," said Arthur.

"I'm just saying her instincts are impeccable and if I could get her to train our operatives and give some of them an ounce of her skills, we'd be able to go farther and get down to brass tacks faster."

"She is one of a kind Ryan, but. . ."

"What are you boys talking about?" asked Joan.

"Oh, just the differences between the public and private sector," said Arthur.

"It's getting late, let me help clear the dishes," said Ryan getting up and gathering the dessert plates.

Arthur grabbed the cups and saucers and put them back on the tray.

"Well, it was lovely to see you after all this time, I hope we can cooperate moving forward," said Joan.

"I'm looking forward to a fruitful and long partnership with the DPD," said Ryan.

"Thank you for dinner, next time, my place!" said McQuaid as he shook Arthur's hand and gave Joan a peck on the cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: None of these characters are mine, all belong to Covert Affairs writers and USA.

Here's a different take on Ryan's invitation to Annie to join him at the Awards Dinner. . .

The next morning. . .(after dinner was cut short at the Campbell home)

Ryan was already keeping close tabs on the DPD's investigation into Chicago as well as the NCTC's task force investigation. He used his contacts to find out the latest intel that the DPD had uncovered. A phone call came through early the next morning. He learned that the DPD had been asking around about an NSA employee. He didn't have a name himself, but he knew the person had ties to the Special Collections Division. Those guys were scary and McQuaid knew the types, he had employed a few people who left the NSA to work as his operatives, he decided to try to find out the name of the guy Annie was after. Perhaps this was the linked to his leak. Borz must have given up something for Annie to go on. The more he thought about it the more he feared that Annie was headed for trouble. He and the operatives with him in Maracaibo knew about her collapse. The other men weren't in the room when he heard the diagnosis from his doctor, so in effect, he and the doctor were the only one who knew her condition. But the NSA, those guys were scary and if this guy worked for Special Collections, he could easily track Annie, tap her phones, and hack into her accounts. He might know about her condition. He decided to pay Annie an early morning visit.

Ryan made another phone call, he needed to speak to Allan Langer, one of his trusted operatives who hailed from the NSA and who was also a former Special Collections agent. He wanted to pick his brain about who could possibly be discontent and capable of leaking government secrets. The call went to Langer's voicemail. Ryan arrived at Annie's home. He took a deep breath because he knew he'd encounter resistance. He had her gun in his car, at least he still thought of it as her gun, he grabbed the package from the passenger seat and walked up to her apartment.

/ /

A strong knock sounded as Annie continued her early morning workout. She was naturally cautious as she wasn't expecting anyone at seven in the morning. She used her teeth to rip off the Velcro on her mitt. She saw through her window that it was Ryan McQuaid and immediately rolled her eyes. She took a second to wipe the sweat off her brow and opened her door.

"You're up, I was afraid I might wake you."

"Why are you here Mr. McQuaid? Do I need to move because I just moved in and really don't want to pack and unpack again."

He chuckled. "No, you don't need to move."

"I'm here on business so you can relax. Can I come in?"

Annie hesitated for a moment, then motioned him in with her one still gloved hand. She took off the glove and tossed them onto her kitchen island. She stood looking at McQuaid with one hand on her hip and said, "So what business did you contrive?"

He grinned, enjoying her discomfort.

"Two things, if you're working on what I think you're working on, you will need this."

He put the gun case down on her kitchen island and slid it closer to her while he studied her in her exercise gear. Her hair was in a ponytail, she had no make-up on, but the beads of sweat on her forehead and upper lips told him she was in the middle of a pretty hardcore workout. He noticed as he had in Venezuela, her slender and muscular upper body. Annie looked up from the package he slid over and met his eyes.

"Please take it. It's not a gift, it's a loaner, until you get one yourself."

"I'm getting one soon."

"Sure how long is the CIA going to take to get you a permit to carry on U.S. soil. You're really not supposed to use one in your capacity as an operative anyway. Take it until you get one, I'm serious Annie."

She studied him, she was good at reading people. "What do you know?"

"Nothing other than you're treading in dangerous territory if you're after a member of the NSA."

Her eyes narrowed as she tapped her index finger on the gun case.

"Okay, you'll get it back when I get my own gun. You said two things. . .what else?" asked Annie as she went to pour water. She grabbed a second glass and offered it to Ryan. He thought he must be charming enough so far if she was offering him water.

"There's an awards dinner tonight, I'd like you to accompany me to it."

Annie started laughing. It was a hearty and genuine laugh and though it was at his expense he enjoyed hearing it.

"What's so funny?"

"You've got balls, I'll give you that McQuaid. You're asking a woman to a formal event the morning of said event? That says something about the company you keep. You better call a service if you need a last minute escort because I'm not that sort of girl."

She drank her water.

"Look, I didn't think I'd be in town for this, I sent Arthur to represent McQuaid Securities, but it turns out that I have important people to connect with at this dinner. It all came up suddenly _and I don't use escort services_," said McQuaid slightly hurt. He didn't like that she lumped him in with other bad boys of the private military business.

"Oh, but it's all perfectly acceptable for men in your line of work, I read the papers."

"Then you'll know that my firm has not be implicated in any of those shenanigans."

Annie laughed, "We've had a couple of conversations about not mixing business and pleasure haven't we? Were you there or was I imagining them?"

"This is all business. You can use your time to there to cozy up to the higher ups in the NSA, maybe even DIA, and I can introduce you to other high level contacts who may or may not be fruitful to your investigation."

"Why are you throwing me a bone? What's your angle here?"

"None, just want to show you and the DPD that my firm is happy to help where we can."

Annie, "No, I can't go with you."

"You can't or you won't?" asked McQuaid.

"Both, I'll be working anyway."

"What are you working on?"

"Shit McQuaid, you know I can't say."

He peeked around her sparse apartment and liked her style. It was industrial, no soft or feminine touches, no prints, no pictures. It was completely uncluttered.

"If you need something to wear, I can have a few gowns and shoes delivered in a matter of hours."

"What do you think this is a scene from Pretty Woman? No, I don't need something to wear and if I did, I certainly could procure it myself. I'm not like the woman you're used to keeping company with McQuaid."

Shit, thought Ryan to himself. He offended her and that was the last thing he meant to do. He wasn't used to being around a woman he liked. Even though he was always confident and cocky, she made him nervous at times. It reminded him of how he acted when he courted his late wife. But he was barely a man then, he should be more sure footed at this stage in his life, but something about this woman caused him to stumble.

"Annie, I didn't mean for it to come out that way, of course, you can. . ."

She cut him off.

"It's time for you to go," said Annie firmly. She caught him looking around and it unnerved her that he was getting a glimpse into the personal life she guarded. She walked to her door and opened it. "Now, McQuaid."

He nodded, "Look, I didn't mean to offend you. I'd like to think that we can be friends one day. We just had dinner last night with mutual friends, our paths are bound to cross again. And I'd like to think you're not one to rush to judgment about people. I'm not the asshole you think I am."

"The people I call my friends are few and they are people I've known a lot longer and people I trust to tell me the truth."

"You can trust me," said Ryan.

"Trust is earned in my book and not given freely. Please don't come here again. I'll return the gun as soon as I can."

"Please be careful Annie." His words concerned her, what did he know wondered Annie. She couldn't let him inside her head, she couldn't let him spook her.

"The only person I need to be careful of is you," said Annie with a smile. "Good-bye Ryan."


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for delays, I neglected this FanFic too long, but been thinking about it some again and forgotten that I had a chapter drafted before the summer started. Anyway, Jumping Ahead and Back. . .Departing a bit from CA writers. . . in my version. . . Annie doesn't tell Auggie about her heart condition when he goes to the hospital after her accident. Again, I do not own Covert Affairs or any of its characters.

As Annie waited for the sweep team to arrive, she tried to steady her hands and heart rate simultaneously. She kept going over the events of the last 24 hours rapidly and repeatedly. How did Harris Wilson manage to find her safehouse? He had been lying in wait for her. . .he had questions and wanted to take her alive with a taser. What had he planned for her? Did she really just kill another man? While she managed to calm herself physically, the intuition she had honed over the last few years told her that losing her field status was the least of her concerns. Annie looked over at his body, still warm, a reminder that a soul takes its time to fully leave. He was someone's husband, he was loved by his family. He was once a boy who grew to be a man who would ultimately betray his country. Briefly she looked right at him and asked, "What happened to you?" as if his eyes would betray his secrets.

The CIA was efficient, Annie with full clarity despite her long night and concussion realized that she had minutes to spare before the sweep team would arrive to take away Wilson's body and fix up the damage to her apartment. She grabbed one of her large designer purses off her closet shelf and went to her safe. Flipping through her stack of passports she chose an American passport and a Greek one she had acquired while away and some cash. There was an opening to the lining of her purse where she put the documents and money. She also grabbed some extra injections. Then the key Simon Fischer's sister Zarya had given her caught her eye. She thought about leaving it there, but took it out of the safe and put it around he neck and before closing the safe back up. She grabs a dress and heads out of her apartment as the sweep team arrives.

After freshening up at her posh sports club she reported to work where Joan said she'd meet her to go over her account of what happened. Annie also knew she had to face the music as surely the news of her heart condition would come across Joan's desk. Annie was hoping against all hope that Joan would listen to her and her theory on Harris Wilson and his connection to the Chicago Bombing. Things didn't end with him, her gut told her so. He sold the secrets to someone. Annie had to find out who that someone was. The bombing was about something more than hurting the CIA and the United States. There were other ways to go about sending a message to the CIA and the American government. Chicago felt personal, she had to figure out who and why. Sometimes the why might help her figure out the who. . . she wasn't sure, but she had a terrible feeling about everything that had gone on since her return.

As soon as Annie entered Langley she was ordered to report to polygraph. At first Annie thought it was just part of protocol after the incident at her apartment and she never completed her poly after returning from going off the grid. Then she realized her actions and past are coming under scrutiny. Hallie was responsible for ordering Annie to polygraph. She immediately demanded Annie's suspension while she investigated further her cover up of her condition and her time off the grid. She felt Annie was hiding something and was extremely distrustful of her. She believed that while Annie was off the grid she was turned and is now an enemy of the state, she sites numerous reasons Annie Walker has to betray the CIA and the USA based on how the CIA has treated her and how much she has sacrificed in her personal life. Joan watched with her arms crossed, the polygraph from the two-way mirror.

As Annie wraps up, Joan returns to her office to meet Hallie who appeared certain that Annie had something to do with Chicago and presented her findings.

"There is no way Chicago could have succeeded without help from the inside and Annie Walker is at the top of my list of suspect," stated Hallie.

"I've seen no evidence to back up that claim and if you are to continue to conduct your investigation, I suggest you operate on facts rather than hunches," replied Joan sharply.

Hallie is also suspicious of Annie's connection to Khalid and brought up Annie's reluctance to kill him. She cites Annie's past liaison with Simon Fischer as a reason to distrust her as well. And noted that all persons of interest in the Chicago case have died at Annie's hands or while in her custody.

"I still don't see how any of what you listed amounts to enough evidence to charge a trusted and highly decorated operative of this agency with treason."

"Come on Joan, at the very least, you've got to suspend her for lying about her heart condition."

"What?"

"You haven't read the report from the hospital?"

"No," says Joan. I came in and went straight to polygraph to watch my operative getting harassed.

"I haven't slept since yesterday, I've been up going over all the evidence! I'm going to see about having Annie Walker detained. Call me after you've done your job. Read the report damn it!" yelled Price as she flew out of Joan's office.

**BACK TO THE PREVIOUS NIGHT**

Auggie started to sweat into his expensive tuxedo when he received the call, the type of call he dreaded as a handler. It was about Annie, who had just returned from the dead. Auggie heard the news from the dispatch that picked up news that Annie Walker had been admitted to a DC hospital after a car accident. He wasn't sure what condition he would find her in, he had to get to the hospital.

When he got off the phone, he immediately told Hallie that the gala had to wait for him and that she should go on ahead. As she walked him out and saw him get into a cab, Hallie is suspicious. She gets into her limo to head to the INP Awards Gala, but gets her phone out and begins to look into why Auggie was called away.

Once in the cab to the hospital, Auggie who could no longer use the view out the window to distract him allowed his thoughts to turn to Annie. She returned, not to him and he was okay with that, but to the agency, to his desk as one of his agents again and he was glad. He had a couple of agents on his docket, but Annie Walker stood out from the get go and in her absence he found himself comparing all his other agents to her. Why couldn't they be more adaptable to situations that cropped up, why couldn't they speak French or German or Hebrew as well as she could, why were they so slow in assessing situations and on and on. There was something about her—something above and beyond the already talented and skilled agents who managed to survive the Farm. She was smart, poised, witty, and although he couldn't see, he knew she turned heads. But it wasn't any of those qualities that made her stand out, it was her integrity and doggedness. She wasn't a blind soldier, she asked questions, she didn't want to on with the job blindly, she had a purity that he loved at one time. Then something changed in her. The job changed her. Now she reminded him more of soldiers. Scarred soldiers.

As he walked into the hospital, the dread that had filled his heart when she was last in that very hospital returned to him. He remembered the pit in his stomach, the hole in his heart, the regret that flooded him as he sat waiting to hear news about her condition. He thought he had lost her and he had to live with never telling her how much he had fallen for her. But she made it out alive despite Lena's second attempt on her life. He bargained with God and he allowed her to live. But here she was again, hurt and he was blind and helpless. As a man, the helplessness frustrated and angered him.

Auggie had to be escorted to Annie's room. Once there, she was surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here?" asked a confused Annie.

"To see a friend and agent of mine who I am told has a concussion," whispered Auggie with a smile. He was relieved to hear her voice and the edge in it meant she was okay.

"I'm getting out of here Auggie, I need to follow down my lead on Harris Wilson before something else happens."

"Wait a second, what do think is going on happen?"

"I don't know, my gut tells me this goes beyond Chicago."

"Okay, we can explore that, but you are off of the case until you are fully recovered," said Auggie with as much handler authority as he could muster.

"No, you can't do that Auggie, I'm close, I can feel it. I just need to follow this lead I have on the Postman."

"I understand, I want to get him, all of them, as much as you do, but you're no good to us hurt."

The comment stung.

"Wait, Joan knows I'm here?"

When he gives her a look that meant the affirmative, she's crushed.

The doctor had just come in five minutes before Auggie to try to convince her to do further testing on her heart.

"The CIA knows I'm here?"

"I'm the CIA, I'm your handler, that's how I found out you were here, your name is flagged at all law enforcement agencies, border crossings, and hospitals. Are you okay Walker?"

She paused for a lot longer than intended. She was processing and wondering how she was going to walk this back. But then she realized she had no time to deal with it. One thing at a time. . . right now Harris Wilson was top of mind. She needed to get into that office she had followed him to. . .

"Walker?"

"Annie?"

"Huh?" replied Annie.

"You're in no shape to leave this hospital."

"Don't stop me. Help me." She trailed his hand with the back of hers and he his only compulsion was to be led by her and to help her. He could hear the desparation in her voice.

Annie walks briskly, Auggie unfamiliar with the hospital corridors finds it tricky and hard to keep up with Annie as they weave past the doctors and nurses. He finds himself getting pissed off.

"Slow down Annie, will you?" he says sharply.

"I can't, I don't have much time."

"For what, talk to me."

"Harris Wilson, he was visiting a fertility clinic. I need to get a look at his records and then I need to get him called in."

"Someone else can do it."

"Auggie, I'm here, I can do it. It would take too much time, we're wasting time having this conversation now."

He knows she's dug her heels in. "All right, what can I do?"

"Nothing. Just get back to your party. Sorry to keep you. I'll call you if I find anything."

Then Annie pauses. She has no car.

"Shit!"

"What?"

"My car was totaled."

Auggie takes out his phone. He finds the closest rental agency and they get a cab there.

Annie gets out of the cab at the Hertz. "Thank you, I can handle it from her, go on to the Gala and let Joan know I'm fine."

Auggie takes out his wallet and asks the fare. He pays and gets out confusing Annie.

"No way I'm leaving you on your own. You just came out of a car accident and were advised to spent the night at a hospital."

"Auggie, I'm fine."

"People who are fine usually don't say that."

Annie sighed, there was no winning and she knew it. He would find out sooner or later, (looked like sooner after her accident) but right now she had no time or will to tell him about her heart.

"Let's go then."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Here's a longish chapter, Will try to write more in my free time. Life is taking over. Please review!

Chapter 9

Only a handful of words were exchanged after they entered the rental car and drove over to the spot where Annie had followed Harris Wilson earlier that day. Annie had been preoccupied during the drive over, she kept replaying everything that had happened and that included Borz Altan's description of the Postman and his meeting with him in D.C. during the spring. What was Wilson's motive? She had to find enough evidence to bring him in for questioning. Finally unable to stand the silence, Auggie said, "Annie, what's going on and I'm not talking about this op."

"I'm just so close to figuring this out, I know it."

"Don't do that Walker, don't forget that I know you. . .talk to me will ya!" demanded Auggie.

You don't know me, not anymore, at least that is what Annie thought to herself. There was a point when he knew her better than Danielle, he knew her as an agent and as a friend, but even then she held back a bit of herself. It was her way, the way she had always been. Then Auggie came to know more parts of her when they became lovers. But she departed from being under his wings when she faked her own death. It was a harrowing time, she was straight up scared every minute, but she also relished it and the freedom that it brought. She made all her own mission decisions and it was strangely liberating to be cut off from her previous support system. She found it stretched her to her limits and she grew as an operative. Of course it didn't come without costs.

"I need to find something to use to turn Wilson or his wife, I'm thinking it's right there in that office I followed him to earlier today. You said his financials are clean?"

"Squeaky," said Auggie.

"Wait here," said Annie as she parked and left the car.

Auggie sighed. "Can you at least tell me what you're thinking? A little heads up?"

Annie closed the car door without hearing the rest of Auggie's request.

Auggie let out a string of expletives. He was dealing with is own issues of being dragged out into the field, but not being able to really do anything. He felt his watch. The Gala was about half over, Hallie was either pissed or working the room networking and trying to get ahead.

And then just on cue his phone rang. It was Hallie who sounded more irritated than usual. . . "You know when I asked you to be my date, I expected to arrive and leave with you."

"I'm sorry, it will be another 15 minutes or so."

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see you, where are you anyway?"

I don't even really know thought Auggie to himself.

"Oh you know I can't tell you that," replied Auggie with his usual charm.

"If you're not here by the time this is over, I may go home with someone else."

She hung up. Auggie raised his eyebrows. He liked her, she was so abrasive, arrogant and attractive to him. He liked how sure of herself she was and how determined she was to do her job no matter who she pissed off. In some ways she reminded him of Annie. A harsher version of the Annie he knew.

Annie returned to the car.

"I got it."

"Okay, let's hear it," said Auggie.

"Harris and his wife have spent years undergoing treatment for infertility. They've tried everything already and have had several miscarriages. They recently decided to move to surrogacy and found one to carry their child. That's why he needs the money. That's his motive. They have to pay big bucks to harvest his wife's eggs, do the in-vitro and them implant their embryos into a surrogate's body."

"Well you got it. Good work Walker."

It still made Annie feel good to hear Auggie's positive feedback. She smiled remembering how much is approval meant to her when she was a brand new operative.

"Thanks, so you think this is enough to get Joan to help us out?"

"Let's find out."

Annie started the car and felt good about this recent turn of events. At least she could go out with a win. What a roller coaster of a day, she was asked to the Gala earlier by McQuaid, then got trashed in a car accident, her heart condition was about to come out, so she had nothing to lose.

/ /

As soon as Annie entered the ballroom with Auggie by her side Hallie spotted them. She tried to get out of the conversation she was in. She knew something was up, and what a coincidence that it had to do with the very person who had been avoiding her calls. She watched them while still in her conversation, she saw the pair approach Joan Campbell and then the trio disappeared out of her view.

As soon as Hallie extricated herself from her conversation she made a call to gather as much information about Annie Walker's last 24 hours as she could.

/ /

Annie managed to persuade Joan to have Harris Wilson called into work so she could have a conversation with his wife. Annie was sure his wife would give them evidence linking Wilson to Chicago and possibly more. Joan herself was distracted, it was the first time she and Arthur left Mac with a sitter and she treasured all her time with her son so she wasn't happy to be kissing ass at the Gala instead of spending time with her son. She also saw Calder cozying up to someone and it raised a red flag. Then there was the issue of worrying about her budget getting slashed and all the losses going into the private sector. Joan saw a much different CIA than the one she had joined. There was so much weighing on her too. Sometimes she dreamt of quitting and becoming a full-time mom. Motherhood was something she longed for and leaving Mac to return to work was heartbreaking. She had only been back to work for about a week and it was hard to adjust to leaving her precious boy. Should she let someone else spent the better part of their day with the child she had hoped for? Would it be terrible for her to quit? Arthur's salary was two times more than the one they had combined while both working at the CIA. . . was it time to call it quits?

/ /

Annie left Auggie with Hallie at the Gala and went to try to turn Harris' wife. On the way there she thought about Auggie and the many women he had cycled through. He had certainly had his share of heartbreak and sorrow. He lost Helen, then Tash, and as the final kicker his eyesight and when he thought he found love again, Parker couldn't commit to him and his blindness. At one point she thought she and Auggie might really had a chance, but the job and Henry Wilcox, the lies, it all came to a head. She chuckled to herself in the car. She liked to blame Henry for the end of their relationship, but really how could she? Was her track record so good? No, neither she nor Auggie had a good track record with relationships and it should not have been a surprise that they messed things up. It take two to tango. . .

Annie arrived at the Wilson home. . . she got out of the car and knocked. A woman in her mid-30s opened called from behind the door.

"Who is it?"

"Mrs. Wilson, please open the door. I need to talk to you about your husband."

The door opened immediately.

"Is he alright? Oh my God, he got called into work, what happened?"

Annie could hear the panic and worry in her voice. "Oh no, nothing. Harris is fine. I do want to talk to you about a concern."

The woman let out a sigh and touched her hand to her heart. "Thank God!"

She looked puzzled. "What's wrong then?"

"Mrs. Wilson, I work for the Central Intelligence Agency and we have learned some disturbing information that has to do with your husband selling intelligence. . ."

"No, no, he would never."

"Would he never, even if he needed the money to start a family?"

The look on the woman's face showed it all. Annie knew she knew it was true.

"Get out of here!"

"Please, you need to help me before more innocent Americans get killed."

"Killed?"

"Yes, 12 of the CIA's finest agents were killed as a result of the information your husband sold."

"Oh my God, no, no, no, Harris is a patriot. We have savings and his inheritance from his Grandma JoJo, he would never do what you say he did."

"Is the inheritance in your bank accounts?"

The wife thought about it.

"No, the money isn't in the bank because Harris got paid in cash. Please Mrs. Wilson, you need to help me find evidence before more people die."

"Do you have a warrant?" she asked while wiping away a tear.

"No, but. . ."

"You don't have one because you don't have enough evidence."

"I do, Annie pulled out a paper from the fertility clinic. It was from the billing office and noted that the egg harvesting and in-vitro fertilization was paid for in cash, $15,000."

"Get out before I call the police."

"I know Harris has more money somewhere, he has to pay for the surrogate? Has he already paid a deposit? How did he pay? Please help me."

"No! My husband is a good man and we are going to have a family, this isn't happening. There's an explanation for this!"

"I think you know that there isn't any other explanation other than your husband sold state secrets. You say he loves this country, but he loves you more, so he did this to have a family with you. This is his motive."

Harris' wife breaks down.

"I think you know what's right, I think in the depths of your heart, you now what I have said is true."

"No, I have to talk to him first."

"I know this is a shock, but you can't tip him off. Can you think of any unusual trips or phone calls he has had recently?"

She shook her head and through her tears she said, "He works a lot, at all hours. He just got called in."

"Can you show me where he might keep his cash?"

"No! No! Tomorrow afternoon is our embryo transfer, I can't, this isn't happening."

"Please Mrs. Wilson, do you really want to bring a child into this world knowing that your husband. ."

Annie got cut off.

"Shut up! Don't you say it, it's not true. Get out! Leave!"

Annie tried to keep the door from shutting, but it was futile. She couldn't complete her mission. She called Auggie and told him the news. Ever positive as a handler has to be, he said, "Don't worry Walker, we'll find another way, there is ALWAYS another way."

It felt like a jab, a reminder that she didn't have to fake her own death. But she knew more than he, that there was no other way for her to be part of that solution. She was done as soon as Joan and the higher ups at the CIA discovered her heart condition.

/ /

Skipping Ahead

The morning after her hospital stay and her harrowing night fighting off Harris, Annie is back at Langley to follow up with Joan on the results of the search of Harris' house. She was surprised, there was no inquisition or even mention of her heart condition. From the minute she called in to say that she had shot Harris Wilson, the CIA sprang into action, she contacted the Sweep team, Joan, and Auggie. No one mentioned her condition. Maybe she would get a free pass though Annie.

Once Annie arrived at Langley and before she could even speak to Joan, she was escorted to polygraph where she was bombarded with questions about her health and her time away after putting a stop to Henry Wilcox's nefarious plans. They asked why she felt she had evade the CIA and go into hiding. Then questions took a different turn. They included insulting ones like, did you kill Oksana Altan on purpose, did you have anything to do with Borz Altan's death, and other questions insinuating that she was deliberating withholding information from her handler. The polygrapher was insinuating that Annie had eliminated everyone who could provide answers to the Chicago bombing including having a hand in Khalid's killing. She was asked why NCTC was not notified of the lead on the Postman. Finally Joan came to rescue Annie from the questioning. Joan believed Annie was innocent and deplored the line of questioning, but she was also upset that Annie didn't confide in her about her heart condition. Annie passed the poly and her stories checked out.

Joan and Calder suspended Annie from field work and put her on desk duty causing Annie to be pissed off with Joan for not hearing her side. On her part, Joan is angry at her for not confiding in her after everything they went through together.

"What could you have done?" shouted Annie. "I did you a favor, now you have no culpability. Instead of looking at what I did as me protecting you and Auggie and you immediately jump to conclusions, things will never change between us. I have never let anything get in the way of this job, even when you believed that to be the case, haven't I proved myself to you enough?"

Annie's sharp words cut right through Joan. She was hurt, but pushed it aside and spoke as calmly as she could.

"It's not about the job it's about the job it's about your health. Your life. And NCTC wanted you suspended, I put my job on the line to vouch for you to get you the desk job!"

"You don't understand this job is my life, I've given up or lost everything for this job and now it was all I had left. I have no family and no relationships. Now you've take away the job I love."

Joan realized for the first time just how much Annie had given up to serve the agency and save her and Arthur. She felt terrible that the once vibrant, eager and idealistic novice agent had become so sad.

In the absence of a response, Annie continued her tirade, "It's not the agency, it's you. You have the power to be the change and step up for me to vouch for me to over rule protocol but you don't, you won't because of your own fears and insecurities over your job. MAN UP Joan! You are in a man's world here and you have to fight like a man. . . Oh why am I even trying to get you to change your mind? Part of you will always distrust me. It took this last incident for me to see that. Thanks for the language officer job, but I have more to offer and give than that."

Annie removed her badge and placed it on Joan's desk. "I quit and if you want to detain me, do me the courtesy of letting me know. I think you owe me that much."

"Wait Annie, let's discuss this! It's not like he old Annie Walker to give up like this. All of us have to leave the field the field doesn't define your tenure here. We are digging deep into Harris Wilson now and how he was linked to Borz and Chicago. We're even looking at the surrogate."

Annie knew they would find little if they followed CIA protocol. This went deeper, her gut told her that. The entity responsible was always ahead of them.

"It does-the field defines me. I was built for it. I was groomed and chosen for hands-on work by you Joan. There was a time when I doubted whether I could manage the life of a covert operative, but I fell in love with my job."

Then Annie thought to herself, I don't know how to be anything else. She exited the room, leaving a stunned Joan and Calder behind. Joan didn't know how she got there. She knew the conversation would be difficult, but she wasn't expecting Annie to be so angry and most of that anger was directed right at her.

Auggie waited for her outside Joan's office. He couldn't hear the contents of the conversation despite the last few years of honing his hearing, but he did hear muffled shouts.

"Walker! You and I need to talk my friend. I just heard from Hallie Price that you have a heart condition ?! That can't be true, I was there last night and I know if there was more to your hospitalization than a mild concussion you would have told me—I want to hear what's going on from you."

"You'll have to ask your new girlfriend," she said hurriedly, not even touching the back of her hand to guide him as she customarily had done so over the years they had known each other. It was an intimacy they had shared even before they were lovers. An intimacy that Auggie still treasured and held on to.

"I'm asking you, a friend I deeply care about, I want a straight answer from you Walker, I want more than you've been giving me since you returned!" he said as he quickened his pace to catch up to Annie. He grabbed her elbow with more pressure than he meant to, he was angry too, and he struggled for years to control his anger.

"I want a straight answer for a change! Ever since you came back, you've been different and we've been different. I expected things to be different for us, but NOT that you would be different Annie. You've changed, but I want you to know that I care about you and that hasn't changed."

His manhandling of her was unexpected, but she freed herself from him not wanting him to know she was hurt by him. She rubbed her elbow with her other hand and said, "Being dead, being lost to everyone I loved and on my own for months changed me as a person and as an operative. Is that so hard to understand for you? You of all people should know how hard it was to be on my own, to be dead, to know that my family and loved ones mourned me"

"Is this about me sleeping with Helen? I know we never talked about it. I'm sorry Annie. It was a mistake and I new it was wrong, but I was lonely without you and truthfully I was angry with you?"

"Ugh, Auggie, I can't right now. You're so arrogant to think this is about Helen and you. It doesn't matter anymore."

"It does, you and I haven't gotten past this and in order to work together we need to."

"We're not working together anymore. I'm no longer supposed to be here. I need to clean out my desk and grab some files before I'm escorted out of here." He couldn't see, but he knew he had hurt her as he heard her, he pictured her with her elbow close to her body as he heard the sound of her rubbing her suit sleeve.

"Wait a second, what happened in there!? Is what Hallie uncovered true? Annie that means you're ill, you're really sick." She pulls him aside. "I have it under control. I need to leave now, don't worry, Joan didn't think you had anything to do with covering my condition up."

"That's not what I'm worried about, wait Walker what are you up to!?," he asked as he tried to keep her there without physically touching her. "It's best you don't know."

"You have a lead on the Postman and his contacts don't you?"

"Auggie, you have to let me go."

"I want to help you."

"I can't let you do that."

"It's my call. I should have been able to convince Hallie to keep you hearlth under wraps. Heck, I didn't believe it was true until now. I'll always be your handler, but most importantly I'm your friend..." he moved closer and though hesitant, he squeezed her arm and said in a low whisper, "Always. I am always your friend first."

She thought for a moment.

"Um, there is one thing, I was hit yesterday at the intersection of 5th and Franklin."

"I'm listening."

"Can you tap into the cams, get the plates and ID the driver? I need a pic. My gut says it was no accident."

She sees Joan emerge from the office where she was sure she and Calder were discussing what to do with her.

"Come by my place later."

She makes a beeline for her desk where she jots down some locations and names and looks up some information. She gathers the few items in her desk, a picture of her nieces, and one of her Jai and Auggie.

I'm going to see it through she thought to herself. She had nothing to prove to anyone, it wasn't about being right or an agenda. The Postman had something to do with the Chicago bombing and he was an American selling secrets to the highest bidder and regardless of his personal turmoil there was no excuse or reason for him to be doing what he was doing. What other secrets had he passed on? She still wasn't sure how Khalid was lured into the trap. Even in that moment, she wasn't aware that plans were in motion to indicate her involvement in the bombing.

/ /

On the way out of Langley, she ran into McQuaid. He had heard about her encounter the night before, when he saw her at the Gala he didn't yet know about her accident. But situation briefs often come across his desk and he learned that she was in a car accident and just minutes prior to bumping into Annie he learned Harris had tried to ambush her and take her for questioning. How he wished he had been able to convince her to be his date at the Gala, then she wouldn't have been in harm's way. Ever since working with Annie in Columbia and Venezuela Ryan felt protective of her.

Under the bright lights of Langley's lobby he saw the bruise on her forehead. He didn't mention it and simply said he thought he saw her at the gala. She played coy but with seriousness showed gratitude for the gun.

"You know what? I changed my mind, I'm accepting your gift. Thank you. You were right, it came in handy Mr. McQuaid."

"Are you okay?"

She had kept it together while being reprimanded, the anger directed at Joan and Calder was overriding the disappointment and sadness and disbelief at the end of her career. Cleaning out her desk and speaking to Auggie was all

about business and tying up loose ends, but in that lobby with McQuaid she felt the emotions coming to a head. He saw the tears welling up. Knowing better than to ask her what was wrong outright, he asked instead, "How about we grab breakfast?"

Annie took a moment to look at her watch, "It's almost noon" she said trying to regain composure.

"Lunch works for me."

She was tired and in need of a friend and she wanted to manipulate him for intel, so she said, "Sure, why not?"

Ryan was surprised, he expected Walker to turn him down as she had turned down all his attempts to spend more time with her. He almost forgot he had a meeting with Joan and Calder to discuss subcontracting some CIA jobs to McQuaid Securities.

"Give me thirty minutes, I have to meet with your boss first."

"She's not my boss anymore."

Ryan's brows furrow and he looked puzzled, evidently he had a lot more to catch up on. "I'll tell you over lunch."

"Okay, I'll meet you at Kearny's Pub?"

"I just remembered my car was totaled and I took UBER here."

Without hesitation Ryan handed his Mercedes keys to Annie. "I think you know the vehicle," he said with a coy smile and a wink. Surprised that he just handed his expensive car's keys to her, she eyed him sideways.

"You're giving me your car? A gun I've accepted, but a car?"

McQuaid is confident as usual and laughs. "I have a few cars to spare, but I just meant for you to have a place to wait. . .it looks like you could use some rest."

Annie nodded, still puzzled by this man's behavior. He continued, "My car is parked in the Guest Lot. I'll be there in 30-35 min tops."

"Okay. . . I have some things to take care of too."

Annie takes the things out of her locker before exiting the building and once in Ryan's car she arms herself and for the first time is thankful for the weapon McQuaid insisted she have.

Annie proceeded to chat with Eyal over a chat app they agreed to use.

E: What a surprise

A: KA is dead

E: I had heard

A: You were involved?

E: That happened in Chicago not DC,

A: Well I was there. Not more than 8 feet away. Been keeping tabs on him?

E: Always.

A: Well?

E: No pleasantries? You Americans are always about work work work.

A: No time.

E: Are you well neshema?

A: Seen better days, what do you know about K's movements?

E: I've learned a thing or two. I'm in Chicago, but I can spare a day before heading home. You remember where my DC residence is located?

A: Yes (how could she forget?)

E: Be there in time for dinner, I'll do the cooking!

A: I wouldn't have it any other way.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: THANKS for the reviews. Means a lot to me. I will update Annie's Demons soon too. Kids started school, but I also started work. First time outside of home in YEARS! Keep reviewing.

McQuaid entered the DPD after going through the requisite sign in and procedures to lock up his cell phone and weapons. He was led to Joan Campbell's office where Auggie and Joan were waiting. Auggie had just started to ask Joan what the hell happened with Annie. Ryan's arrival interrupted Auggie's demands of Joan. It was for the best because Joan who loved Auggie like a little brother was still reeling from Annie's tirade. She didn't need Auggie's anger and though she detested the outsourcing of some of her department's work, she was relieved to see Ryan.

Joan looked at her watch and raised an eyebrow when McQuaid entered. "I hope you won't make a habit of keeping me waiting."

"I apologize, I ran into someone I know in the lobby." McQuaid wasn't making a great impression with Joan as far as punctuality since he had been late to dinner at her home.

Joan continued, "Auggie, you'll be working with Mr. McQuaid in the coming months. I believe you two share a similar history. Ryan, Auggie is also a military man."

Auggie barely acknowledged McQuaid.

"Oh so you let a valuable operative go and to hire a green badge to replace her? Her chair is still warm!" exclaimed Auggie.

Joan gave Auggie a stern look. "This isn't the time August."

Joan maintained her professionalism and went on with her agenda, "You and Ryan have a lot in common. Auggie was Special Forces, he served in Iraq and Chechnya many other battle zones and since Ryan here proved helpful to us in tracking down Borz Altan, we'll be working with him and his team on the Chicago bombing."

"Annie was the one who tracked down Borz."

"Auggie is right Joan, Annie's a fine agent, the best I've encountered from the CIA and it would have taken me and my team of four another few hours to bring in Borz."

Joan nodded, pained. She knew Annie was the cream of the crop, but since Annie resigned entirely on her own there was little Joan could do and Annie was a big girl, she always made her own decisions. Joan had to move forward.

"Auggie, why don't you take McQuaid to your office and show him what we have and formulate next steps. I expect a plan on my desk before the end of the day."

/ /

Auggie left Joan's office without uttering a word. He knew Ryan was a couple of steps behind him though he hesitated on leaving the office. Once in Auggie's office Ryan's eyes went straight to Auggie's large screens. He is distracted. He sees something on Auggie's screen that catches his eye. Auggie had gotten right to work and located the cams of Annie's accident. He had multiple screenshots up of the moment leading to Annie's hit and run and the collision. Seeing the shot of the truck's impact with Annie's car made Ryan cringe. Then, McQuaid's eyes locked in on one screen and he found himself staring at a screen shot of a face that looked oddly similar to Allan Langer. He was behind the wheel of the pick up that struck Annie at what looked like 45-50 mph in residential area.

"So, what's all this here, can you tell me about your equipment I haven't seen some of this tech and I keep myself pretty abreast of the latest. . . ?"

Auggie cut him off as Ryan continued to look around and tried to remember as many details as he could from the screens. "I'm afraid that will have to wait for another time McQuaid. I don't have much time to fill you in on what we have in the Chicago bombing matter, so let's get started," said Auggie as he shut down his screens and brought up different images and evidence boards on Harris Wilson, the Altans, and Khalid Ansari.

Ryan made a mental note to go back to Auggie and find out why he had a picture of one of his operatives on his screen. There had to be an explanation. He feared the worst, but didn't want to believe it to be true. The feed wouldn't be doctored, it was clearly Langer behind he wheel. Ryan was sure of it and had a bad feeling in his gut. Was Langer a suspect in the Chicago bombing for the DPD? There had been few new leads in the days since the attack. . . They were getting further and further away from the truth as time ticked on.

Auggie went through all the evidence and recounted how Annie's spycraft led her to Harris Wilson's fertility clinic and then to his home last night. But ultimately the motive of needing money to fund fertility treatments and a surrogate wasn't enough to turn Wilson's wife.

"At some point Wilson learned of Agent Walker's investigation and decided to try to question her. He either followed her to her safehouse or he used his resources at the NSA to locate her. We aren't sure yet how and when he found out about Walker."

"If he mentioned Walker to any of his collaborators, she could be in danger," said McQuaid.

Auggie sensed the concern in Ryan's voice.

"I know, but she's tough and can take care of herself."

"Do you have a list of Wilson's friends, contacts, training partners and allies at the NSA?"

"Working on it. I'm trying to see the connections with others in our system."

"What about any other connections between Khalid and the Altans?"

"I've found none that are apparent," replied Auggie tersely wondering what McQuaid could really contribute that the CIA hadn't thought of.

"Do you have Khalids whereabouts the months leading up to the bombing?"

"We haven't found much, he to ground after he had his father killed. Patricide, it's a major taboo, but I'll keep digging."

"Okay, let me see what I can find out on my end and how about we share information at 4PM?"

Auggie nodded.

"You in a hurry McQuaid?"

"Yeah, I have another meeting that I am late for."

"Go then. I have a lot of work to do," said Auggie who simply put his expensive headphones on and pretended McQuaid was no longer there.

/ /

As soon as Ryan left the security and logged out, he retrieved his cell phone and called one of his trusted men who he tasked with finding out as much about Langer's recent movements and his current assignments as possible. As far as Ryan knew he wasn't on any assignments related to McQuaid. He also asked for Langer to be located and then tailed by an elite member of his Flint Group.

Ryan was in a hurry, he was eager to get answers and to see the woman who was waiting in his car.

/ /

Annie fell asleep in Ryan's car a few minutes after her exchange with Eyal, she was exhausted beyond words and had only been in the hospital less than 12 hours ago. She was beginning to feel the effects of the concussion and a let down of the adrenaline that had been fueling her the last couple of days.

As Ryan walked towards his car, he didn't see Annie sitting in it. When he got closer and peered in he saw Annie had reclined the passenger seat all the way and was asleep, at least he hoped she was sleeping and not unconscious due to her injuries or heart condition. He knocked lightly and she barely moved. He knocked vigorously and started shouting. When she finally woke and appeared groggy, he was so relieved. She saw Ryan and unlocked the doors and brought her chair back to sitting position as Ryan climbed into the driver's seat.

"Sorry, I took a bit longer than I said."

"How long has it been?" asked Annie putting her hand to her head.

"Almost an hour." Said Ryan eyeing Annie with concern.

He didn't hesitate and instinctually brushed her hair away to reveal the bruising which looked worse than it did earlier. She also instuctually swatted his hand away.

In that awkward moment, they both apologized at the same time.

"I'm sorry," "Uh, I'm sorry"

Both Ryan and Annie looked at each other and after a few seconds Annie said, "No, I'm sorry, I should be less on the defensive."

"I didn't mean to cross a line, it's just that I heard a bit about your car accident (which looked like no accident thought Ryan, but he kept that to himself) and given everything else you have going on, I'm surprised you were even at work today."

"Well, I was required to come in and it's been a wasted trip, can we just get out of here," said Annie tiredly.

"You don't look so great, how about you give me the keys and I drive us to a doctor I know."

"That won't be necessary, I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all. . . " said Annie yawning while handing the keys to Ryan.

"I heard something about your evening. You a cat or something?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many of your nine lives do you have left Walker?"

She laughed. It was the first time in a long time she laughed like that. It was true, she had many close calls. Probably more than nine had been used up. How many close calls had she had in her tenure at the CIA? The dangers started on her first day. . . there were too many, she had lost count.

She looked over at him and said, "I don't know. I'm too tired to try to figure it out."

"I have a thought. How about I take you home so you get some rest and then pick you up later for dinner instead of us having lunch now?" Ryan needed some time to get to the bottom of Langer's connection to Annie and her injuries. He felt his phone ping already a few times, but he wanted to give his full attention to the mysterious Annie Walker.

She thought about it for a second, surprised he was willing to let her go while she was sitting in his car and essentially at his mercy. "I'm sure the CIA nearly done with their fun, they're nothing short of efficient when it comes to cleaning up a mess and I could use a long bath, sure drop me off at my place."

Ryan smiled and started the drive to Annie's apartment. He just wanted to make sure she was safe. He wasn't sure if she was still in danger or not, but he intended on finding out. . .

"So did you have a good time at the Gala last night?" asked Annie trying to make polite conversation.

"Would have had more fun if you were there as my date," said Annie.

"Yeah, you and I both," replied Annie.

Ryan smiled. Maybe he was growing on her.

Annie looked out the window and her eye lids began to droop. Ryan lets her fall asleep and was reminded of the time she fell asleep and her head made its way to his shoulder. It was a comfortable feeling at the time especially since they had finally gotten out of what seemed like an impossible situation in Latin America.

/ /

After the car stopped, Annie stirred and woke up.

"We're here."

Annie blinked as she looked across the street and into her apartment window. She saw a figure inside. "That's strange, it looks like the CIA is still here."

"What do you mean?"

"Second window from left, someone is in my apartment. I saw movement." Annie opened the car door and started to get out before Ryan pulled her arm and said firmly, "No, get back in, it's not the CIA."

"What? How do you know?"

"You said it yourself, they are efficient. What time did you report the body?"

"Around sunrise."

"It's lunch, past lunch. . . it's someone else and not the CIA up there," said Ryan.

"And we have a clear advantage. We can follow this man out. Is that what you're thinking?"

"Yeah, but this could get ugly."

Annie nodded.

"Do you have any idea who could be up there?"

"No, none."

"What did this person look like?"

"Blond, built,

Shit thought McQuaid, "It must be Langer."

He took out his cell phone. There were many pings on it. One text read:

Followed L to Dupont, inside apartment building now. He carried in a package.

Ryan replied: Stay on him! Don't spook him.

Annie continued to across street into her apartment, "I'm not sure he's still there. I haven't seen any movement."

Annie looked over and saw Ryan tensing his jaw while on his phone.

"What's the matter?"

"Any movement?"

"I just said. . . none, am I the one with the head injury or are you?"

"What do you think he's after?"

"Well if he wanted me, he would have left sooner, he's up to something,"

Just then both Annie and Ryan see her building door open. They both slink down into their seats. Annie is itching to follow his man. "Start the car! We can't let him get away."

"Don't worry, he won't"

"Well he will if we don't start moving, he's at the light already!" said Annie quite frustrated with McQuaid.

Ryan wasn't sure how to play this hand. Should he tell Annie what he knew?


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I don't own these lovely characters. They all belong to USA and CA writers. Thank you for writing reviews/feedback. I really appreciate it! Please let me know what you think. . . it's entertaining for me to write and come up with twists and turns. I always believed that there could have been more to the Khalid connection in Season 5. . . the scene where Annie tells Charlie that he likes white girls and there is a shot of her in the side view mirror looking off, I thought that perhaps she had contact with him while she was on her "sabbatical". . . I think Khalid was attracted to Annie Walker (What Man Isn't?) and in my fanfic universe of Prodigal, he reached out to her. More to come later. Busy with new job and tired. Hard to juggle kids, kids' activities and work. House is a disaster zone, but found some time today to edit and post.

/

Annie went silent. Despite her headache and fatigue, her brain worked hard to process events and information that appeared to be unconnected. What did Ryan mean when he said, the man wouldn't get away?

Wait, thought Annie. . . The car that she just saw pull away there was something familiar about it. . . one of her skills that she applied well as a spy was her ability to recall details. Although the damage on front of the car wasn't visible to her, it was the same model and make as the one she saw crash into her out of the corner of her eye.

How did that man know where she lived? Was the man in her apartment working with Harris Wilson or the Altans or both? There were pieces she needed to complete the puzzle. She _had_ to question him.

"What the hell McQuaid? He's started his car already!" shouted Annie as it occurred to her that the man sitting next to her at no intention of starting his car and her gut told her all along he had been hiding something. She didn't have time to ask questions she knew he wouldn't answer truthfully so she made a decision.

"Annie, that man is. . .," started Ryan before he started letting out a string of expletives as Annie opened the passenger car door and swiftly went around back to the sidewalk to avoid the man in the pick-up seeing her from his rearview mirror. From his sideview mirror, Ryan saw her hike up her dress and get on a motorcycle, the same one she rode to the Campbell house for dinner. She put on her helmet and started to maneuver it into the street after the man he knew as Allan Langer.

Ryan sucked in his breath and turned on his ignition. She was doing nothing out of character and therefore he shouldn't have been surprised that she sprung into action with no thought to her personal health and well-being. He should have told her what he knew, he shouldn't have hesitated. Now he had to stop her from blowing things where Langer was concerned.

Ryan didn't want to do it, but he could think of nothing else, so he pulled out of his parking spot abruptly and cut her off causing her to swerve her bike, then go down on the curb in front of her apartment. Beads of sweat formed on his head as the hairs on his neck and back stood on end. He quickly pulled his car back into the spot he was in while also turning his attention to the spot where Annie went down. Once out of his car, he ran to Annie. He was surprised that she wasn't up and ready to take him for what he did. He saw that she struggled to right the bike. The fury he saw in her eyes when she saw him approaching was undeniable. He would have felt better had she unleashed a tirade on him, but instead she fiercely focused on lifting her motorcycle.

As quickly as he hit her, he righted the motorcycle. When he turned back, Annie had stood up and that's when he saw blood dripping from her hand, which held her handgun, the very one he gave to her. After she made sure he saw the gun, she tucked it back in her jacket while gritting her teeth. With her head she motioned to her apartment. Still not a word had come out of her mouth, but Ryan knew she was fuming.

/ /

Auggie called Annie repeatedly and each time his call went straight to voicemail. He wanted to give her an update on what he found and he wanted to check up on her. There was so much he wanted to know, they needed to have beers and he needed to have answers. She said to come by after work and the end of his day couldn't come sooner.

On the last call, Hallie Price blew through the DPD. She stopped by Auggie's office and without a hello or greeting of any sort, she started in, "Did you know she quit and was allowed to leave the building? You of all people! You are the one who came down so hard on me about finding out who is responsible for Chicago. You want to find out who killed your friend and his colleagues don't you?"

Auggie put down the phone and thought, "great, another female angry with him."

"You know I do," said Auggie firmly. "You're not the only one working on this case. What's got you all riled up now?"

"Annie Walker?! That's who! She's a person of interest in the NCTC's investigation into the Chicago bombing. There is enough evidence to at least hold her for questioning."

"Wait, what? Evidence that proves what exactly?" asked Auggie angrily.

"Do you know where she went?"

"No!"

"How long ago did she leave?"

"I'm blind remember? I didn't see when she left."

Her voice softened, "Look Auggie, I like you. I really do and I'm enjoying what we started. But I'm doing my job here and right now that trumps everything. Do you understand?"

She saw that Auggie nodded.

"I know she's a friend of yours, but I can't let that stop me from doing my job and _you_ shouldn't either. You have to ask yourself some tough questions about _where _Annie was during the four months she was missing and _what_ she was doing and _whom _she was with."

"What are you insinuating?"

"I've found information tying her to a key suspect in the Chicago bombing and the fact that she hid and actively covered up her heart condition points to a pattern Auggie. _You have to be objective_."

"I know her. There is always an explanation and she never does anything lightly or without reason."

"Don't be blind to her history Auggie!" shouted Hallie.

"Oh, don't be blind?" sneered Auggie.

"I'm sorry Auggie, I didn't mean to. . . it came out wrong. You know what I meant."

"You know what Hallie, you go and do your job and let me do mine!"

Auggie heard her leave the office and when he was sure she was gone, he tried Annie's cell again. He needed to tell her that Hallie was on a witchhunt and that the face he captured of the man who hit her came up in the CIA system, but he could not access the information on the person in question. His files were denied which concerned Auggie. If the facial recognition system was as good as he knew it to be, they were in trouble.. There was no response even though he tried to call her multiple times. He needed to tell her to be vigilant.

"Ugh, Walker, pick up!" said Auggie as he slammed his phone down.

/

If she distrusted Ryan a smidgen before, that distrust had multiplied in the last few minutes. A dozen questions raced through her head, but first she needed to get to her apartment where she intended on questioning the bigshot CEO at gunpoint. She wanted answers, she needed answers. Her head and hand throbbed, this day was turning into a nightmare. There was blood was coming from a laceration caused by going down on her bike.

Disturbed by the silence, Ryan finally broke the ice once inside the lobby of Annie's building. While they waited for the elevator, he said, "I apologize. There was no other way to stop you."

Still nothing.

"I was about to tell you before you. . ."

He noticed her trying to deny the pain and hide her weakness from him, so he took out his handkerchief and said, "Let's stop that bleeding."

She eyed him angrily as she stepped away from him, "I wouldn't be bleeding if it weren't for you."

"You wouldn't be in the predicament had you stayed in my car," countered McQuaid.

"Whoever that was is long gone thanks to you!" said Annie through clenched teeth.

When the elevator came, she struggled to open the heavy industrial doors. He had to admit he admired her grit and total lack of need for him. He stepped in and opened the doors with no difficulty. He could tell she was annoyed at his help. "I want some answers."

He nodded. Once at her door, he said, "Wait a minute. Let me check something."

He had put a case into his suit pocket. He retrieved a wipe from inside the case and started to wipe her door handles.

"Explosives? Really?" The man knew a lot more and she couldn't wait to question him.

He nodded as his lips curled, partially enjoying keeping her wondering. This routine they had fallen into since the beginning was something he enjoyed very much.

"Are you going to tell me what you know or not?" she asked harshly as he signaled that all was clear and motioned for her to open her door. She entered her apartment slowly and cautiously. She began scanning the small space immediately. Nothing seemed out of place from her initial look. The CIA had done a good job putting her apartment back in order. There was no sign of her struggle with Harris Wilson and there was no trace of death, not even the scent of cleaners they must have used to eradicate all evidence.

Ryan watched her as she studied her place, he could see the wheels turning. His phone had pinged a number of times, but he remained focused on her.

She turned around with her gun trained right at him. "Time to talk."

Ryan knew she was pissed off, but he didn't expect to her to point a gun at him. He put his hands up, she was angry, perhaps angry enough to actually shoot him. He was slightly scared but what he really wanted to do was to grab the gun from her and kiss her fiercely. He'd never felt the strong urges he was feeling in that moment. But he was also a man of discipline and there was business to attend to. He slowly put his right index finger to his lips, motioning, "SH!" to Annie.

She looked at him puzzled. He continued to make motions towards her. He slowly went into his pocket again and Annie removed the safety on her gun and, she didn't need to utter a word. The couple communicated through motions and eye contact.

Ryan's face contorted and he motioned again for Annie to be quiet.

Finally Annie said, "Take off your jacket, make yourself at home." said Annie cheerily.

"Are we getting comfy because I'd like that," he replied with a big grin.

He complied and when he handed over his jacket she went into his pocket to find a bug detector. Annie kept trying to figure out this man. He seemed to always be ready.

Her eyes narrowed once again. Did the man who was in her apartment place a bug there? She nodded to McQuaid and handed him his bug detector. He went to work immediately sweeping her apartment as Annie followed him with gun still cocked in case. While he worked, he made flirtatious small talk with her for the benefit of whoever was on the other end of the listening devices. He found a listening device in her kitchen lights, another in her nightstand, and one in her bathroom. If he disarmed them all, it meant Langer (the one he suspected was listening in) would know and they would lose their advantage. Instead he turned on Annie's radio and then said, loudly, "Care to dance?"

Annie laughed. "You dance?"

Then he walked towards her and whispered in her ear, "Put your gun down. I'm not the bad guy here." Annie felt his breath on her neck as she leaned down to whisper to her. She tensed up and whispered back,

"You stopped me from going after the man who was here, which leads me to believe you know him. It seems convenient that you knew why he was here."

He sighed. "The man who walked out of your apartment is very dangerous and I am having him followed."

"Now we're getting somewhere. . . and how did you know that and how long have you been following him?"

He remembered the time she held a gun to in Venezuela. He had his boys, Fitz and Dex then as back-up. He was alone here. . . Ryan wasn't sure if he should tell her everything she was holding a gun to him afterall. He settled with what he had come up with back in the car just moments before Annie abruptly ran out of her car. "I saw his face on your handler's screen when I was at the DPD. I just had him followed starting about an hour ago."

She studied his face. Her gut was telling her to trust him, but her body was still tense. Her head was still telling her she needed more.

"You have anything to drink?" he asked in a regular voice.

"Yeah, there are beers and water in the fridge, help yourself."

"You want one?" he asked. He was concerned for her. She looked pale and the blood from her injury had seeped through is handkerchief.

"Just some water, thank you," said Annie trying to sound as polite and sweet as she could.

Her eyes narrowed, Ryan had just confirmed what she had remembered. The same man who hit her yesterday was in her apartment. "So I heard you quit. Care to reconsider my offer? We have great benefits."

In that moment her gut told her to trust him for the time being. She tucked her gun back into her pants and whispered to him, "And you knew him by sight?"

Ryan nodded, happy and relieved that she had finally put her gun away.

"Who is he?"

He didn't answer her, instead he asked, "Does anything look out of the ordinary?"

She shook her head. Then went to her bedroom where Ryan tried to follow her, but she put her hand up to stop him. "Wait here while I get out of my work clothes," she said.

Her bedroom was enclosed by decorative glass windows, Ryan watched her silhouette as she went to a corner, where he had seen a closet before she closed the door.

When she opened her safe, it looked different than when she left it earlier that morning. Inside among her sketchbooks and journals she found a phone she had never seen before, an accordion file, explosives, a heap of cash and passports she had never seen before.

/ /

While Annie was in her bedroom, McQuaid checked his voicemails and texts. The men he had following Langer had followed him to a warehouse. His people back at his office had found no info on Langer's recent jobs, but Langer had been paid through a Flint account, a top-secret division that Ryan ran outside of McQuaid Securities. He knew the details of every Flint operation and the operatives on every mission. That was news to Ryan. What was going on? The next ping he received was an alert. He opened the attachment and there he saw Annie Walker's face and the heading, ENEMY OF THE STATE, wanted for questioning. Also listed was a photo of Annie talking with Khalid Ansari on a beach taken nearly four months ago.

Now it was time for his gut to speak to him. It didn't seem like the woman he had come to know, the woman he began to fall for to consort with the likes of Ansari. He had to bring her in, that was the only way to clear everything up and to keep her safe. Ryan had a terrible feeling about what was going on. He had a small gun strapped on his calf. He took it out and called out, "I've got your water here Walker, are you coming out or what?"

/

Annie had to think quickly. She managed to dump all the items planted in her safe into a duffle. She had little time to waste. The man who had been in her apartment probably called the CIA already. She had just opened the accordion file and lifted out maps and photos of the Chicago facility as well as those belonging to a posh DC hotel. Then among the papers was a photo of Ryan McQuaid with Borz Altan. They were both dressed in fatigues and holding automatic weapons and looking very cozy.

"I'll be right out," said Annie as she went another 180 where Ryan was concerned. She made sure she had her gun within reach.

She took off her dress, which had ripped when she crashed into the sidewalk. She was standing in her room in nothing but her bra and underwear when Ryan barged in. She grabbed her gun and suddenly they were face to face, each pointing a gun at the other.

His eyes couldn't help but to look over her body.

"We need to get going," he said trying not to be distracted by the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

Annie cocked her head towards the file on her bed. Ryan's eyes went from her to the photo lying on top of an envelope and when he saw it, he sighed. His phone was pinging again.

He took out his phone while still holding his gun up and showed Annie the photo of her with Ansari.

When she saw it her eyes narrowed as she shook her head.

"Want to get out of here?"

He nodded and they both put their guns away. She motioned to her safe. She quickly changed while he closed up her safe and wiped it down. She grabbed some clothes and shoved them into the duffel. She went into her bathroom and threw her overnight kit into the duffel as well. She packed her medication and went to her toilet tank where she retrieved a waterproof container that had a new phone in it.

Ryan stopped her inside the bathroom, he found a first aid kit. He untied the blood soaked handkerchief he had tied to her hand earlier. She winced as he rinsed her hand under water. The cut was deep. He applied pressure on it as she clenched her jaw. He applied surgical tape and wrapped it up. Then as he held her injured hand, he looked at her intensely and kissed her. She didn't pull away from him for about three seconds. Then he felt her push him away. He loved the confused and exasperated look on her face.

"Let's go!" said Annie.

He took her duffel from her and they headed out.

"What the hell was that?" she asked as she headed to the stairwell.

"You're wanted by the federal government."

"And from the looks of it, you will be too," countered Annie. "You knew Borz Altan? Is that why you wanted to question him?"

Ryan thought, she didn't jump to the conclusion that he had something to do with Chicago when she saw the photo of him with Borz. He had to give her credit for not believing he would be a traitor. "You aren't scared of me or what you don't know?"

"No, right now I'm more scared by what will happen if the CIA takes me into custody. More lives are at stake and I need to figure this out."

He admired her spirit. "And that's why I kissed you and want to do it again right now."

She headed to her bike once outside. "They won't be far behind."

"You can't ride with that hand."

"You can't get back in your car. They'll be looking for it soon enough."

"I have this. . ." he said holding up his electronic skeleton key.

"Let me grab by go-bag, find something suitable."

Surprised he let her choose their transportation, she followed his order. She needed him to get to the bottom of everything and it appeared for now that needed to be partners moving forward, someone was trying to set both of them up.


	12. Chapter 12

** Note: **Love the feedback, please let me know what you think. . . Am trying to get it all to come together in the next couple of chapters which also include some real events from S5. Again, I don't own these characters, they all belong to CA/USA Network.

Annie chose a dark blue Prius while Ryan went to pick up the bag he had stashed in the back of all his vehicles. He was a boy scout growing up and he was always prepared. As he did so, his wheels were spinning. What the hell was going on? Who was responsible for making it seem like he had something to do with the Chicago bombing? How far back did Borz' betrayal go? Was he inserted into his company or was he turned while working for him? The latest turn of events wasn't what he needed, he had a reputation to uphold, a company to run and employees he felt responsible for. . .

Having retrieved his bag and extra weapons, he looked over and saw Annie getting into a Prius. It was a car that would blend in, but not his top choice by a long stretch. For a moment, Annie had second thoughts about sticking with McQuaid. The authorities would be looking for both of them, perhaps they would each have a better chance if they separated. She was tempted to take off in the Prius alone. He had been stupid or trusting enough to give her his skeleton key. Annie wondered why he trusted her given what he knew. If she were him, she wouldn't trust her one bit. . . But she was curious and had too many questions for McQuaid to walk away. She hated to admit it, but she needed his help. She would let things play out before she ditched him.

Annie hadn't forgotten her plans to meet with Eyal Lavin later that evening. The photos of her on the beach with Khalid had Mossad written all over them. She was sure no one from the CIA knew where she was when the photo was taken. If the CIA knew her whereabouts they would have ordered her ass back to D.C. as soon as they located her, but Mossad. . . that was another story. They must have been keeping tabs on Khalid Ansari. If anyone would know, it would be Eyal Lavin and how convenient that he was in the States. Ryan's voice stirred her from her thoughts.

"Really? There is an Audi Q7 right there, " said McQuaid pointing a couple of cars down as he got into the driver's seat. "You couldn't pick that one?"

"You got a problem with going green? Oh, nevermind, Mr. Gas Guzzler, you're what's wrong with American consumers."

"Whoa, I own a Tesla, I'm doing my part, but. . . given the circumstances, we need a powerhouse of a car, not . . . not this. . ."

"We need to get moving and you need to stop micromanaging. You asked me to find something suitable and I did. If this is how you treat your operatives then you're not convincing me that McQuaid Securities is a place I'd like to work," Annie responded tersely. He was infuriating. She couldn't believe he was criticizing her choice of cars.

McQuaid thought she had a point. He wasn't a micromanager, in fact, with trusted operatives he gave them a lot of latitude, but his recent experiences were teaching him that perhaps he had to operate with a little less trust and a little more scrutiny. Were there others he couldn't trust given what he had just found out about Langer and Altan?

"Our phones. We need to ditch them," said McQuaid.

Mine went down the drain already. She saw the numerous missed calls from Auggie, but didn't want to risk listening to the messages. The quick succession of the calls lead her to believe Auggie's calls probably had to do with the manhunt. Annie couldn't drag him deeper into this drama.

Ryan handed her his phone so he could drive. "Can you look through the latest before you chuck it out the window?"

Annie quickly scanned his emails and texts. There are a dozen missed calls too.

"You have a text from a "Balto" for an address in Colchester, Fairfax County, same guy asks, if he should stand down." "

Shit thought McQuaid when he heard Colchester. Annie noticed the slight look of worry on his face. She was always good at reading people and became even better while on the run. "Tell him yes," said Ryan.

Annie continued to real Ryan's texts rapidly.

"Labrador says: WTF? What can I do?"

"Denali says: Get out of Dodge &amp; lay low."

"Arthur's called you three times and there are dozens more texts and calls coming in."

"Any calls from Caitlyn Cook?"

"No, none."

"Text Caitlyn, tell her she's in charge of the company until I clear everything."

"Arthur's good in a crisis and he'd be privy to information given his ties. . ."

Ryan responded, "Say she can Arthur are in charge…I can act on advice when it's wise and shrewd."

"Text has been sent, no more, we should have tossed your phone minutes ago," with that Annie threw Ryan's phone out the window into traffic.

Ryan was a man who thrived in crisis, he drove down smaller streets to bypass some traffic and get onto the freeway heading south. He was pumped, even more so because Annie Walker was sitting beside him again. Pleased that she mentioned working for him, he wondered if now she would seriously consider it given that the CIA cut her loose. The irony wasn't lost on him. He was finally getting to spend the time he wanted to with Annie Walker, but they were both being pursued by their own government.

"What's in Colchester?"

Ryan had already revealed too much.

"You don't have the address, I didn't tell you, but you obviously know where you're going."

He looked over and gave her a nod to affirm her hunch. He still has his own secrets to protect. He felt he could trust Annie, but given that he also trusted Borz Altan, his head was telling him that he needed to proceed with more caution than his gut wanted to employ. Annie was frustrated. She hated being in the dark. She had no idea where they were going exactly or why.

"What's his name?"

He sighed, "Allan Langer. At least that is the name I know him by. I can assume he is a known associate of both Borz Altan and Harris Wilson."

"Did Borz know Harris?"

"I don't think so. My hunch is Langer made the introductions, he's the common denominator."

Annie took a deep breath. "And you? What's your link to all of this? You lied to me about Borz on that tarmac in Chicago and you've kept up that lie. How long have you known him?"

"I thought I knew him, but I didn't. Not by a long shot."

Annie thought, he still wasn't revealing very much. "Altan wasn't special forces or in the SEALS, you said yourself that he only did a couple of low key missions for you and you had _only_ met him once. Why should I believe anything you say going forward?"

Ryan knew he needed to give her something. He needed to come clean if she was to fully trust him and he not only _needed_ her to trust him, he _wanted_ her to trust him. "I'm here, we're here, and it's just us. We need to trust each other. Look my gut tells me that you're no traitor despite the alert and the photos of you and Khalid. What does your gut say about me?" Annie studied him, his weathered face and fine lines. She gathered that he was a man who smiled and laughed often, not one filled with anxiety, stress and anger that so often showed on men with malevolent intent. His smile, it was warm and his eyes revealed a softness that she had witness before. He actually reminded her a lot of Simon Fischer. They were both wealthy men who could do what needed to be done even if it meant taking a life, but they had their own sense of decency and morals. They both knew how to tease her and get a good laugh, except she met one when she was a lighter and freer person, she met Simon before the rigors and stresses of her job changed her. Annie didn't answer his question about what her gut was telling her about him. Instead she countered with a question.

"The only way to get my trust is to earn it. How did you come to know Borz Altan?"

"I think we owe each other transparency moving forward. I'm game if you are, what do you say Walker?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Did you have contact with Ansari?"

Annie nodded, "The photos are real. He approached me while I was sunbathing on a very remote beach in Crete."

"How'd he know where to find you?"

"Are you insinuating that I contacted him? I was on his hit list."

"And he was on ours, I've been told, but you didn't take the shot."

"I did what I thought was most expedient for all sides."

"Fair enough, it was a smart move to turn him against his father. Calculated yet risky. I liked it."

"It's an aspect of the job, I mean, it _was_ an aspect of the job that I didn't enjoy."

"So if everyone believed you were dead, even most of the CIA, then how did he know to even look for you?"

"Does it matter? We met for all of two minutes before I told him to never contact me again."

Annie remembered then, her journey after she left Hong Kong. . . she needed to get closure for all the people who had died directly or indirectly as a result of her choices and work along the way. There was Simon, her beloved Simon. She had no grave to visit so instead she visited Edinburgh where he spent time before he died. There was Jai Wilcox, one of her good friends who died in front of her, and Megan Carr, she had successfully turned her and involved her more deeply than she should have been. It resulted in her death. She figured Khalid must have seen her at Megan's grave in Zurich and followed her to Greece from there. That was the likely scenario though she wasn't totally sure.

As Ryan listened to Annie Walker talk about the people she had lost or felt responsible for losing, he could hear the sorrow and regret fill her voice. He could tell she had grown and matured as an operative over her years of service. The more he spent time with her the more he grew to trust her. So he made a decision to spill it all out.

Ryan then told her about his secret black ops division, Flint. Even as he spoke, he couldn't believe he was breaking a dozen laws and oaths. He told her how Borz had potential, but was cut loose by the Army because of his migraines. One of the things he committed to when he started his company was to help veterans find work, a place to use their skills and get additional training, a place to belong. In spite of the disability Ryan saw Altan's drive and his potential. He trained him and they worked on many highly classified missions together. He thought he knew him until his name popped up in the Chicago bombing and Ryan dropped everything he was working on to pursue Borz. If he had just taken the information to the CIA, he probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to work closely with Annie. As he told the story, he also calculated the moments he had spent with Annie Walker. Why did their paths collide? He believed in destiny.

Annie could see the look of pain and sensed the feeling of betrayal that came through his voice as he recounted his story of how he knew Borz Altan. It was more evidence that McQuaid wasn't the bad guy, just a trusting man who got duped. She could tell he had once cared about Borz, but was now angry at his treachery. "You know what gets me the most about Borz?"

Annie looked over at Ryan.

He took his eyes off the road and met her eyes. She could see that his were watery. "I considered him a friend and a fellow patriot. The way he talked about what this country meant to him, how proud he was to be a Muslim American Veteran, and the work he did at his Mosque to improve the perception of the military among the Muslim community, he was so genuine. . . I thought I knew him."

"Now you know, trust shouldn't be given so freely," said Annie coldly.

"That's not how I want to live, but yeah, maybe I've learned a lesson here."

"That's why you wanted to question him. . .but why didn't you just let the CIA in, maybe you wouldn't be wanted right now. What he did outside your Flint group isn't on you."

Ryan nodded and clenched his jaw, believing it _was_ on him. He hired him, he trusted him. She was right of course, but he had a company and reputation that was truly at stake now.

"But then I wouldn't be right here with you would I? Do you believe in destiny Ms. Walker?"

She smiled remembering, a quote that had stayed with her, something she came to live by. She nodded. "I do," as she uttered the quote to herself.

"Only a fool confuses fate with destiny. Fate is what happens to us. Destiny is what we make in spite of our fate."

"You and I, we were destined to cross paths and if this is how it is meant to happen, then so be it. I'll roll with it."

"Who knew the likes of you could be a romantic? Get back to Borz, what did you find out from him in Venezuela?"

"He was a member of my elite tactical team, he didn't know a lot of mission details or objectives, he just carried out orders once on the ground, it was all need to know, but . . . "

"He knew a lot more than you thought he did," finished Annie.

"I needed to find out how deep and wide this all went. Who knew what Borz was doing on the side and if any of it involved other Flint Operatives. I also needed to make sure Borz didn't access any of my highly classified mission files."

"And?"

"The son-of-a-bitch assured me that this job was one he took on the side for money and I believed him. He told me how his sister, already a doctor back home wanted to had to redo medical school here and needed tuition money. He was always a family man, dedicated to his siblings. I didn't know anything about his brother's trips to Yemen at the time. UHH God, if he didn't die, I would have killed him myself, what man sends his baby brother to his death? And what sister implants an explosive in her brother" asked McQuaid angrily as he pounded on the steering wheel.

"It wasn't about the money, it was about ideology. They waited years to strike back at this country," observed Annie.

"Yeah, but it seems like he was likely just a pawn. They used him, used his family's vulnerabilities. They used me and you too."

"I wonder why he didn't tell me about the Postman, but then told you.. . with me, he insisted it was only about the money."

"And Langer? How does he fit into all of this?"

"I haven't figured it out yet. But we will," said Ryan with determination. He looked over at her. "Keep your eyes on the road," said Annie.

"Tell me about you and Khalid."

She shook her head. "Did you actually think I had something to do with Chicago? I mean you rushed into my bedroom gun in hand."

"I have to admit, I was surprised when the photo showed up, but I just wanted to bring you in. I was afraid for your safety and I thought the best way to insure it would be for you to be in custody.. . then when I saw what you had, I realized we were all pawns in this."

"I just can't figure out who would be orchestrating all of this," said Annie. "I just got back, how would they know that?"

"Maybe you were a convenient pawn, we need to look at all angles. . . Tell me about Khalid, maybe that will help us figure things out."

Annie chuckled. She should have stayed dead, that thought crossed her mind. Eyal's words about getting out while she could did too. She put her head in her hands. Was coming back to DC a mistake? Her heart had been sending her a message, was it a warning she didn't heed and now she longed for the beach and a simpler life.

"He approached me to talk mainly. He was haunted by his father's eyes as he pulled a gun on him. The look of betrayal and disappointment he had when Khalid killed him. And he missed Megan and the life they had planned. I thought she was a pawn, but he was genuinely in love with her and grieved for her. Killing his father didn't alleviate that grief. He couldn't sleep or stay asleep for long. I told him I couldn't help clear his conscience, hell I have my own issues. He wanted to talk about Megan and what-ifs. . . I think he just needed a friend to talk to truthfully and he thought I would be able to understand. Ironically, I do understand or I did understand what he was going through, but I turned my back on him. I told him I couldn't give him any closure and said to never contact me again. As soon as I could, I left Crete for another ocean…" she trailed off, nostalgic for simpler times.

Ryan loved that she also loved the ocean. "You like the beach? So do I. There are still a few on my bucket list."

She smiled, but it was a sad and tired smile. Now there was another death she was partially responsible for. . . "Maybe if I had spent the time talking to him, he wouldn't be dead now. . ."

"Oh, don't go there, Khalid Ansari was no saint and his shooting wasn't your fault."

"I thought I came back ready, renewed and rededicated to this life. I should have stayed away. Now, just a couple of weeks later, I'm tired, so tired."

"It will be another half hour or so, why don't you get some shut eye."

"I wasn't being literal," replied Annie.

He chuckled. "But you are tired. Get some rest, we can talk more later."

/ /

Annie turned her body towards the window and settled in, how she longed for a bath and a cozy bed. She wasn't totally honest with Ryan. How could she be? She hardly knew him and she had learned her lesson. She was sure he wasn't totally honest with her too. But the temporary alliance they formed was all she had at the moment. She couldn't involve Auggie and she didn't want to contact Eyal just yet. She also had to be wary of her Israeli friend.

Her thoughts turned to the week she spent with an old friend while she was on her vacation. She prayed and hoped that no one was aware of that trip.


	13. Chapter 13

Note: Long week, working even PT is killing me and this is such a fun escape. Had to call a parent about a kids' behavior and it's only week 2. Good to nip in bud. I'm surprised myself at this chapter, I wasn't sure where I was going with this fanfic, but this came to me, so I'm rolling with it. . . It seemed natural. . . At first I debated who the old friend should be, but ultimately felt this would give me more material for future chapters. I can tie together some other events. . . Some of these events referred to are from S4. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think! It helps to know people are reading!

**Rolling Back A Few Months**. . . Annie made her way to Llafranc, Spain after leaving Hong Kong and evading CIA spotters in Turkey. She had to tell him in person that she had completed the mission.

"Come back to bed," he said in his raspy first attempt at speaking for the day. He wasn't sure how long she had been awake, but he saw that she was packing up her duffel while wearing only his t-shirt and her underwear. The last few days were some of the most carefree times of his life and he didn't want it to end.

Annie had already spent longer than she intended and gotten more attached than she meant to. She kept her back to him while rolling her clothes and packing her journal and sketchbook.

"I came to let you know it was safe to go home and to bring you home, I've failed my mission and know when it's time to call it. . . "

The man was naked under the sheets as he listened to her and thought about what she meant. They didn't talk much about their shared history after the first night when they had a heated argument over what _should_ happen now that Henry Wilcox was dead. Every time she tried to bring it up since he shut down, changed the subject or simply seduced her and she let him.

When she turned up less than a week ago, he almost didn't recognize her. Her blond hair was a dark brown and she looked so haggard, so spent from her months of being dark that the guilt he felt over what she had to do filled him with anger and disgust at himself.

The two of them made a plan during the 10 hour drive from Germany from Denmark. They had all those hours to talk through Henry's motivations and how his diabolical mind worked. It was how Annie kept Teo awake and during that long drive, they hatched their plan. In the end they decided that everyone had to believe that Teo died. Teo fought the idea for nearly two hours, but the pain worsened in his leg, he knew Annie was right. It was going to take him weeks to recover and then weeks of physical therapy to be 100%, there was no way he could finish what he started. And Annie, she felt responsible for Henry's actions. Had she let Teo kill him to begin with, Copenhagen would never have happened. The truth would have come out about Wilcox and she wouldn't be on the run with Teo. Arthur's life wouldn't come under scrutiny and Auggie's history training Teo wouldn't either.

The pair decided that Annie had to take over the quest to stop Henry. The only person who knew anything about it was Eyal and the surgeon they paid off at the Army Hospital. Even Arthur had to be kept in the dark so that Wilcox believed his grief and felt he had a victory in Teo's death. He needed to believe that he got his revenge.

The man found his boxers as his feet touched the floor of the beachside cottage. He pulled on his boxer briefs and walked over where she stood packing. He wrapped his arms around the woman who had helped him trade life in the dark for life in paradise while she completed his dirty work. He wished he had listened to her previously.

Remember on that rooftop in Copenhagen when you said, "I don't want to lose you and we kept getting pushed together for a reason? I made the wrong choice when you said that. I don't want to repeat that. . ."

Annie remembered and nodded. But when she said those words many months ago she was trying to stop him from his quest for revenge, those words weren't the truth because her heart was with Auggie at the time. She was resorting to the attraction she felt from him. Now that she and Auggie had dissolved their relationship, she felt something for the man who was kissing her neck, but not enough to stay.

"I should have listened to you when you said we'd find another way. Everything that happened after could have been different and I'm sorry Annie. I'm sorry you had to finish what I started. I wanted to be the one to put a bullet through Henry Wilcox's head and I should have been able to do it."

"Well, I shouldn't have stopped you the first time, but it's done. You were seriously injured and needed to recover. Having Henry believe you were dead and he got his revenge gave us an edge. He stopped using you to get to Arthur."

"Yeah, but then all of the responsibility and weight of it transferred to you alone and that wasn't fair. Arthur shouldn't have asked you to continue."

"He didn't. Is that why you're still angry with him? Don't make it about me Teo."

"Annie, I'm not angry, just realistic. Arthur's moved on, he thinks I'm dead and that's for the best. He has his son and his family. He was never a father to me, I'm not missing anything. My mother was the only real parent I had."

"He loves you Teo, he grieves for you still. And Joan, she is great and would love to get to know you. You have a brother you can help raise. Why are you rejecting your second chance? Isn't this the reason we pursued Henry? So you could come out of the dark, have a place at the CIA?"

Annie's back was still to his chest as they talked. It was easier to not face each other for this conversation. One she had tried to start many times since the first night, he never wanted to talk about any of it.

Destiny. He had once said his destiny was set the day his mother was killed, but he didn't count on getting shot in the process and he didn't count on Annie Walker.

"That's not my wish anymore. I've seen the light here," he said as he nodded towards the windows and the calm sea.

"The CIA is where I belong. I have a job to return to."

"You want to leave this beautiful place for what? A life where you have to be someone else all the time? Where you make choices that keep you up at night? Lady, you need a vacation after what you've been through, the CIA can wait for you."

He waited for a reply. When there was none, he said, "Take the time now because after you go back forget about getting another opportunity like this," he said.

"I'll stay a little longer if you agree to at least let me tell Arthur you're alive. It would clear his conscience and alleviate his guilt."

"No, time has passed, let it be." He said as he kissed her neck and ran his hand along her waist. He had been great at avoidance, a master of shifting the conversation and this is how he did it . . .

She smiled. It had been so long since she had been with anyone, she didn't mean to fall into bed with Teo Braga, but after her second day on the beach with him and a night of delicious tapas and wine, they had both gotten so drunk talking into the night that one thing led to another and now after her sixth night with him she felt it was time to move on or she would really never leave. She tried for the last six days to convince him it was safe to return, that he had a future in D.C. with Arthur and Joan, but he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to go back and he didn't want her to tell Arthur he was alive and well.

"I have a family, I left behind and a life that I want back." She said as he lifted her hair off her neck and kissed the side he had missed.

"You mean Auggie?"

She stopped at the sound of his name and took his hand off her hip and stepped away from him. She turned around for the first time since they began talking that morning and it was her turn to end the conversation.

"No, that's over." And it was truly over after she learned that he slept with Helen. Was this partially her way of getting back at him, sleeping with is old friend and trainee? No, that wasn't Annie's style. She needed someone, someone who understood what she was facing and Teo was there. Truthfully, she was never really over Simon when she and Auggie started their romance and it wasn't fair to him to begin with. They were both unfair to each other, they both had unresolved feelings for others, dead lovers haunted them both, except Auggie's lover as it turned out wasn't really dead.

He sighed and in his sexy and sultry accent said, "I'm sorry that was stupid of me to bring up." She got back to the conversation at hand.

She looked down. "It seems ages ago now, he moved on while was undercover and I understand."

"If I had someone like you, I wouldn't sleep with another."

"Oh really, you Latin men with your reputation for extracurricular . . ."

"You forget, I'm half American."

"Oh, so when it's convenient to use, you won't deny that Arthur is your father and that you are indeed an American? Tell me Teo, why, why won't you go home. It's safe now. I took care of Henry Wilcox. Arthur is safe, so are you. This is your second chance, there is a place for you at Langley."

"Home? I told you long ago, I don't know what that is anymore," he said in frustration. His brooding nature returning, he started to pick up the rest of his clothes and made up the bed before leaving the room.

Annie zipped up her bag and then sat down outside on the patio and looked out into the ocean. Teo had spent the time since he died in Portugal and Spain, he spoke Spanish, English and Portuguese fluently and passable French. He couldn't go anywhere near Latin America because he was wanted by authorities as well as the ALC for being a traitor, so this part of Europe was his best option.

Annie thought, he was right, it was beautiful there on the beach in Spain and the weather was perfect. Maybe she didn't know what home was anymore either, but she wanted the last true home she had and that was in D.C. and at the CIA. But maybe he was right about taking a longer break. The CIA would probably have her back to work right away. She had many more beaches on her list and she needed more time to get closure on the last year of her life.

In that moment she decided she'd go to Edinburgh when she left instead of heading home. She wanted to see some of the places Simon mentioned. She suddenly felt the need to be close to him, to truly say good-bye to him. The days with Teo were wonderful, but she didn't feel what she had felt with Simon though she much appreciated the ability to finally talk to someone about her mission, the spark and passion wasn't there, at least not for her.

Teo emerged from inside twenty minutes later with a cup of coffee and plate of eggs, bread and ham. He handed the food to her. She smiled. "It's not going to be the same when you go back. Take it from me, I have experience in the matter. If you don't want to take my word for it, look at Helen. It's never the same once you do what you did. Once you've gone dark and deep cover, the old you. . . it's mostly dead and if it isn't it has to be for you to move on."

"Well I'd like to believe I'm different."

"That's so American!"

"Is that why you don't want your father know you're alive, you think that's what he needs and that's what you need to truly move on?"

"I call it sacrifice."

Annie rolled her eyes.

"It's going to hit you, what you did, one day. I'm sorry you had to do it."

"It was my destiny too. I made choices along the way, but no one every forced my hand. I did what I had to do to help the people I care about," said Annie. It did take a toll on her psyche and it cost her so much, but she didn't regret it.

He reached his hand to her face. "You're really going?"

She nodded.

"How about one more day? We'll go into town, grab a picnic for the beach."

"You're really making this hard."

"I'm trying to save you trouble, the trouble of going back because you can't. . . and you're the only one who knows everything about me, who knows the truth and the true me. Not the PUMA, but me, the man I was born to be, Teo Campbell. And I know you and what you've done. We can be honest with each other." He was trying hard, harder than he expected he would.

"She shook her head, there's a lot more you don't know about me and how can you talk to me about truth and honesty when you won't let your real family know you're still alive?"

"Stay and you can figure me out," he said flirtatiously.

"You don't want to talk most of the time. . ."

"It takes time, I'm a man, Annie, a Columbian, we don't talk about our feelings much. . .but I want to. I want to with you."

Annie stayed another day with Teo, but she wasn't in love with him and she really wanted her life in D.C. back. She left him the next morning. He drove her to the closest large city. It was quiet most of the way. They parted on good terms. She said to stay in touch and promised to not tell Arthur or Joan that he was still alive. He said to come back anytime. She said, "I hope you find happiness and a home."

In return he kissed her with all he had and said, "Don't be a stranger."

"Check in with me from time to time?" she said.

Annie nodded as she walked away. He watched her enter the station and then returned to pack up his cottage. It was time for him to move on too.


	14. Chapter 14

Note: Some of this is based on S5, but some of it is different. Want to slow it down and so wish we learned more about Caitlyn and Ryan's history. Really wonder what the writers had planned and wish we could have a glimpse into their drafts and story boards for S6. Poor S6, there's got to be ideas the batted around. What I would give to know!

Annie eventually dozed off in the Prius next to Ryan though he knew it took a while before her body fully relaxed. He used the time as he drove to go over in his head all the events that transpired leading up to the Chicago bombing. And it bugged him that nothing, absolutely nothing stood out to him. He had been busy as always, he poured himself into obtaining and maintaining contracts. In the last year McQuaid Securities hit a plateau, a problem many companies face as they mature. He was doing well, very well, the money was coming in and he was in the black. But Ryan wasn't satisfied with the slowdown. He wanted to continue to build and expand his company because he believed he did a better and more efficient job than the government could. He genuinely believed that McQuaid Securities added value and saved the U.S. government money in the long run. Of course he had many private and publically traded multi-national companies and a few other governments as clients, but his biggest source of revenue was the United States government.

As he replayed the events of the last few months, Ryan was bothered by something. He found it strange that he didn't hear from Caitlyn Cook. All the people close to him, all the people who truly knew him called when news hit the wire that he may have contacts or a relationship with those involved in the Chicago bombing, but there was no word from his old friend, his second in command, his confidante, Caitlyn. It nagged at him, but he thought the likely explanation was that she was busy putting out flames.

"Where's Ms. Cook?" demanded Arthur of her assistant.

He shrugged and said, "She left a couple of hours ago and didn't say where she was going."

"Get her on the line. We need all hands on deck now."

"On it Mr. Campbell."

Arthur wondered where she was in this crisis. The phones were ringing off the hook. Clients and government agencies were canceling contracts and the press had loads of questions that Arthur couldn't keep up with alone. He had been busy for sure when he was DCS and worked at the CIA, but running a company was a different level of management.

Caitlyn Cook was nowhere to be seen, so Campbell took over. In the middle of trying to convince clients that everything was okay and that McQuaid Securities could still handle their contracts, he received a text from Ryan. He didn't want to believe that his former student was at the center of this and at the same time words reached him that Annie was implicated in the Chicago bombing. It didn't make sense. As far as Arthur knew Annie and Ryan didn't know each other. None of it added up to Arthur. He needed to speak to Joan as soon as possible.

/ /

As Ryan brought the Prius to a crawl, Annie sensed the change in speed and began to wake up. Ryan was thankful for the quiet engine of the Prius. Annie chose wisely as usual. He chuckled at himself and said, "I owe you a apology. This was a good choice in vehicle, it's quiet as a lamb."

Annie looked surprised. "I got it for the mileage," she shrugged.

"Come on, gear up. The building is about quarter down the road, we can stash the car here." Ryan had gone into mission mode.

She watched as Ryan outfitted himself with two guns and extra mags. He also attached a knife to his ankle. "I only have one of these, you take it." He handed her his bulletproof vest.

"Excuse me, but are we going to war?"

Ryan handed her another gun and extra bullets that he pulled out of his duffel. "Langer and the likes of him are dangerous. Harris, too. You saw how dangerous yourself. They were trained to be elite operatives. If you thought your blacks ops/off book spies were scary, they are nothing compared to Langer and Wilson. All of them have military training first and most have been in combat. Langer has killed men with his bare hands. It makes your training look like a walk in the park."

"It's not my size you go ahead," said Annie handing the vest back to Ryan.

"I insist! You're not trained for combat like I am."

"I've been in a fair number of hairy situations, I use my brains not just brute force."

"I've seen you in action, you're good, but don't underestimate these guys. They not only have cunning skills in the field, they can torture anything out of a man."

"I'm not a man," countered Annie.

They trekked down the road along the woods in silence. Both alert and aware of their surroundings. Once close to the building, Ryan found a vantage point to take in the surroundings. They saw two cars outside the building. One of them belonged to Langer.

"Do you recognize the other car?" Annie's voice was muffled. He didn't hear her. She repeated herself. "Ryan, the car, do you know who it belongs to?"

Ryan's jaw tightened. He couldn't believe he was looking at Caitlyn's car.

/ /

Ryan flashed back to his college days at the Naval Academy. He met Caitlyn first during a jaunt to the University of Maryland with his roommates. A week later she invited him to her sorority tea and there he met Kelly McCormack. They shared an Irish Catholic upbringing and hit it off right away. He was a kid, he didn't understand love when his friends spoke of it, but that night he learned what it felt like to fall in love. Caitlyn and Kelly were best friends. Caitlyn was the maid of honor at their wedding. They had such a long history together, he didn't want to believe what he knew to be true. Earlier his gut told him something was off and this was verification.

/ /

"Let's approach from the side, there are no windows."

"Wait a minute, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what it is we're going to find in there. I need more intel to do my part effectively."

Ryan had started to get up from their prone position besides boulder on the ground.

"This is a training facility. One I haven't used in more than a year. I thought we sold it. I remember signing the papers vividly."

"We?"

"Who led you to believe it was sold?"

Ryan was angry, he was trying his best to contain the growing fury, but it had reached a boiling point as he pounded his fists on the dirt. Annie pulled him back down, afraid he would be spotted.

"You're emotional. You need to check it before we go in there."

He nodded, she was right.

"Now tell me whose in there."

After remaining quiet for another moment, he spoke. "The other car belongs to someone I counted as a friend, a close friend and the second in command at McQuaid. She has access to nearly all of my missions and contacts."

"Even Flint?"

"No, all except Flint, at least that's what I thought."

"What did you use the facility for?"

"Trainings for operations, housing of operatives and others when needed."

Okay thought Annie. It was likely used as a black site by the U.S.

"What do you think we'll find there?"

"It has to do with Chicago, that's for sure. . ." replied Ryan.

"Or something that hasn't happened yet. Remember the blueprints in my safe?"

"Remind me to pay closer attention to my real estate holdings when all this is done."

"Do you have a way to get into your accounts?"

He nodded.

"What's the plan when we get there?"

"The main entrance opens into an office. There's a few back rooms, but the bulk of the place is underground. We'll stick together, it's large and I know it."

"Tell more more."

"The main hall has four rooms off of it. Two are bathrooms and two are dorm rooms. There's also a kitchen and living area in the back. There's a back entrance. The only windows are at the front and back of the building. Inside there are two lower levels. The lowest level has tunnel access that will lead you to the main road."

The pair carefully approached the building and entered.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks for reading this one. I like the way I started off this version of S6, but was stuck for a bit. I think I am back on track. This fanfic will veer off for a bit from what is typical for me. I'm surprised myself. It does have Annie doing things that some of you found surprising, like her getting cozy with Teo (loved his character, wish they explored him more deeply). Although I am a huge Ryan and Annie fan, I'm also a huge Annie and Eyal fan. No slim pickings for Annie. Anyway, I'm not sure who her happy ending will be with or even if there will be a happy ending for this fanfic, but leaning towards something different. Let me know what you think. . . I really appreciate reviews. None of these characters are mine. All belong to CA writers &amp; USA Network.

/

Annie and Ryan just entered the inside of the warehouse, they heard heels coming up stairs from an opening in the ground. Caitlyn emerged and was about to leave. All they heard her say to the men below was, "The plan moves forward as planned."

Annie looked at Ryan and signaled for him to remain quiet in the spot where they were crouched and hidden behind some office equipment. Ryan was getting ready to go after his former friend and co-worker, but Annie shoved him against the wall with her body and gave him another stern look. Ryan was hot and bothered, he wanted to go after Caitlyn, but Annie stopped him and he didn't fight her for fear that they would give up their position to the men below. It did take all that was in him to restrain himself from grabbing Caitlyn.

Caitlyn left the building, next they heard her car start. When Annie was sure the car had driven away, she noted

"What the hell?" Ryan whispered angrily. "We had her."

"You don't, you didn't! You're thinking like a soldier, it's time to switch gears Rambo. You need to start thinking like a spy. You have an advantage she doesn't know you know. . . we're better off following her later. And what do you think would happen, the car's down the road. Whoever's down there would know we're here if you confront her."

"She's gone, how are we going to follow her?" said Ryan still perturbed.

Annie rolled her eyes. "We'll find her later. You know where she lives don't you?"

Ryan hit the wall with his fist. The man had been nothing but eager and ready since they first met, but he always appeared relaxed and jovial even in the most hairy situations, this was the first she saw him tense and slightly unhinged. The news about Caitlyn obviously hit him hard.

"Get your head in this, not your heart. You're reacting. My call is the right one. Let her go, now let's see if we can neutralize what's down there."

Reluctantly Ryan nods.

The two put on their ski masks and quietly go down the stairs. They don't hear anything at first. Annie looks around and sees taped lines on the ground on a very large open space. It was the size of an underground city parking lot.

"This place is enormous!" whispered Annie.

"Needed to be for trainings."

There's a light towards the back. She saw a man shredding papers. Ryan signaled that he was going to check it out. He kepts his back to the wall and arrived at the opening to a small command center where the man was working. He fired his weapon and wounded the man who ran out towards Annie. She was annoyed that Ryan made their presence known in such a bold way. She would have opted to sneak up the man and given him a verbal warning before firing at him.

The man was not in the right frame of mind for the task before them. He needed to work on being less rash, but it was too late. Annie came out from the shadows and tripped the man who was running towards her. She got on the man's back. He had fallen down and twisted his arm behind him. He was grunting in pain, but flipped himself around and knocked Annie off balance. Clearly, he was trained in hand-to-hand combat. She landed a blow on his chest, but not before he had his hands around her neck for a few seconds. He fell back and hit his head on the floor.

Allen Langer appeared from another room. He fired shots at Ryan before taking off towards the stairs. Another man emerged and ran towards the stairs too. Annie managed to fire a fatal shot at the man, but missed Langer. "Go after him, I've got this one," said Annie as she elbows the man Ryan had shot earlier. Seeing that she had things under control, Ryan took to the stairs two at a time.

The man left behind managed to get up and shoved Annie to a wall causing her to lose her grip on her firearm. He picked up a broomstick and swung it at her. She ducked and leapt towards the direction of her gun. He continued to come after her, but not before she army crawled towards her gun and grabbed it. Annie shot him, just as he was about to land the broomstick on her. The man collapsed and fell on top of Annie. She used what strength she has left to push him off.

The close physical contact had taken a toll on Annie, she could feel her chest start to tighten and couldn't catch her breath. She started to go through her pocket for her medicine as the pain began to travel down her arm. She had her medicine out, but wasn't able to administer it before she blacked out.

/ /

He wasn't able to catch up with Langer, who had gotten in his car and taken off. Langer was probably calling Caitlyn to tell her that they had to change their plans. McQuaid was angry at himself for being so rash. He shouldn't have fired his weapon at the man he saw shredding papers. He had to admit that Annie was right, he needed to think before he acted. Now they had to get out of there.

Ryan returned and called out, "Walker!"

Shit, McQuaid thought as he approached Annie. He saw her medicine near her hand and quickly injected her. She's still unconscious. He goes into the room and gathers as much of the shredded papers as he can. He looked around and took a bunch of pictures of what he saw. Ryan debated his next move. He looked around. The two other men had to have had a way there. He went out back and found their motorcycles. Ryan rode to the Prius. He drove it back and settled Annie in the backseat and drove back to D.C. It was his only choice. He had to get to Caitlyn.

As Ryan drove he formed a plan. He had to get a message to Arthur. He could trust him. He just needed to make sure Arthur would believe him. He needed him to go to the facility he just left to check it out. Ryan had a feeling that it was the staging area for the Chicago attacks.

Ryan entered the parking garage of a close friend and operative who was out of the country on a mission. After he carried Annie in, he checked her pulse periodically while trying to make sense of the papers and photos he took at the warehouse. The last time she was unconscious when they were in Maracaibo, she was out for about two and a half hours. He would give it that long before he worried. Her pulse had stabilized. He hopes she will be okay, but there's no one he can trusts to come check her out.

When Annie starts to wake up, she felt her throbbing head. She felt disoriented as she tried to remember what happened. She looked at herself and she was only in her tank top and underwear, she saw her clothes neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Annie looked around and saw no pictures or anything personal to indicate where she was. There was a book on the nightstand, a biography of Steve Jobs and Outliers. She looked out the window. She was back in D.C., on the outskirts of Chinatown. It felt like a bachelor's pad. Annie got dressed and found her weapons on the dresser. She armed herself and walked out of the room to take a look around and saw that Ryan had fallen asleep on the couch outside. He was surrounded by paper shreds, he had been trying to piece together.

Annie nudged him.

Ryan woke to a start. "You sure you should be up?"

"I'm okay, thirsty and a little hungry."

"There's water right here," said Ryan handing her a bottle.

"What happened? Did you get anything out of Langer?"

"He got away, when I came back, I saw you and hightailed us out of there after collecting what I could."

Annie drank the water and sat down on the couch next to Ryan.

"Twice I've saved you."

"Twice I've been in danger when with you."

"I wasn't keeping score, just making an observation."

"You undressed me."

"Trust me, I don't enjoy undressing an unconscious woman, I would have much preferred you to be conscious," said Ryan with a wink.

"Someone is in a better mood."

"Yeah, about that, I was angry and needed to get over it. You were right I was being emotional. I've over it now and ready to figure this out so I can clear my name."

"What's all this?"

"Trying to piece together what the man was shredding."

"What have you found?"

"Looks like parts of files on you, Ansari, me, Borz, so far."

"What the hell is all of this about? Why would someone want to frame you and me?"

"I can't wrap my head around it, but first things first. I'll look for some food and you take that bath you've been dreaming about and then we can talk about what we need to do next."

Annie slouched back on the couch and closed her eyes. Eyal! She had to get to him.

"Are you okay?"

He was probably cooking dinner and waiting for her.

"I'm not sure. That bath sounds good."

Ryan smiled. "It's just down the hall on the left."

Annie went to the bathroom, started to run a bath and looked for a way out. She had to get to Eyal's apartment.

She found a pen and wrote Ryan a note. He deserved that much.

Ryan knocked on the bathroom door. There was no answer. He worried that she passed out in the bath and broke the door down. When he discovered the bathroom empty and the window open, he laughed. He should not have underestimated her. He looked around and saw the note:

We're better off on our own here on out. If I find anything, I'll leave it where we had dinner.

~AW

/ /

Annie entered Eyal's apartment via the fire escape. She spent a few weeks there after her return from Russia. She knew the building well. Eyal was startled but not surprised.

"Thought you wouldn't show. I was about to eat without you."

"What's for dinner?"

They hug tightly for a bit.

"You look like hell Annie."

"I feel like hell."

"You care to tell me about that photo that's surfaced?"

"Neshema, I had nothing to do with that."

"But Mossad did."

He said nothing for a moment. "There's a guy at our surveillance department, apparently he went to college with a member of your NCTC and owed her a favor so he sent her our file on Khalid."

"But you were keeping tabs on Khalid."

Eyal looked at her squarely. "We always keep tabs on our enemies, you do the same."

"He approached me, I wanted nothing to do with him."

"Neshema, you don't need to defend yourself with me."

"You knew I had contact with Khalid and you didn't even ask me about it when I went to see you in Jerusalem."

He shrugged. I didn't need to know. I know you enough, besides the reports said you met for about two minutes and that Khalid walked away upset. Khalid was also followed to you, not the other way around. Unlike your NCTC, I looked at the context.

She smiled. They had their ups and downs, but she could always count on him.

"Seriously, are you taking care of yourself, you don't look so good."

"I feel horrible actually."

Eyal gave her a look of concern. "When was your last episode?"

Annie looked at him afraid to reveal the truth, "About three hours ago or so."

"What happened?"

Annie proceeded to give Eyal a quick run down of everything that had happened since her day began about 10 hours ago. Eyal knew this was big. What had his friend gotten sucked into. He sensed this was big and that she needed his help once again.

"Here come lie down and let me listen to your heart."

"I don't have time, I need to figure this out."

"You could collapse again and die my friend, then you won't be figuring anything out, but not while I'm with you." He took her arm and led her to couch.

"Unbutton your shirt."

"Well, that's forward."

"If I were seducing you I'd take it off myself ," said Eyal with a wink.

"I should have seen something like this coming."

"I was too damn busy trying to avoid the CIA while I was on vacation that I let my guard down. . . "

"We'll get to the bottom of this, right now you need to calm down, your pulse is still all over the place. When's the last time you ate or slept consistently?"

Annie's thoughts turned back to Spain with Teo, she slept well there right after she took out Henry and beside Teo. She finally was able to stay asleep for hours at a time. It was like a weight had been lifted from her. She rested while she was in Spain with him.

"It's been awhile."

"Neshema, when are you going to take my advice?"

Eyal had his stethoscope in his ears when McQuaid barged through the door with a gun cocked.

Annie quickly grabbed the weapon in the small of her back and pointed it right at Ryan.

"You don't know how to use the door chime?" asked Eyal.

"Shut up. Annie you okay?"

She looked shocked, how did he find her?

"Yes, Eyal was just listening to my heart."

"Wait you two know each other?"

They nodded.

Ryan meet Eyal Lavin, my Mossad contact.

"Ah the famous Ryan McQuaid. I've read a good deal about you."

The men shake hands.

"How is she?"

"Sounds like it's deteriorated from the last time."

"Uh, he never finished med school so. . ."

"Neshema, you hurt me."

"We don't have much time," said Annie looking at Ryan annoyed.

"Eyal can you tell me what you know?" asked Annie.

"We've been watching Ansari and we followed him to Chicago. But he didn't go on his own."

"He didn't?" asked Annie surprised.

"He was drugged and flown there. When your people shot him dead, he had woken up in that hotel room with the gun."

"So whoever is behind this wanted Khalid traced back to me and wanted us to find his link to Borz and McQuaid," said Annie.

"Looks that way," said Eyal.

"Why go through this whole charade? It's so convoluted," said Ryan.

Annie is thinking about why her life had to get so complicated and full of drama all the time. She needed a break. She never should have returned.

"Look, Eyal, can you get Walker here out of the country?"

"What?"

"I've only had field medic training, but I agree with your friend who didn't finish med school here, you're not well, you're a liability now. You need to get treatment and leave the rest of this investigation up to me."

"How? How are you going to do this alone?"

"I'm not alone. I made contact with Arthur, he's going to help me."

"I can help you too," said Eyal.

"I came on a private plane. I can sneak you on and get her back to Jerusalem."

"I'm right here, don't I get a say?"

Ryan sat down beside Annie. "As much as I'd love to have you beside me as we figure this out, I want you to be around when this is over."

"You're no spy. You need me to help you."

"I've learned a thing or two from you in our time together. I'll be fine."

It was one of the hardest decisions of Annie's life. She finally chose herself, her life, her health, her future…she nodded.

"Okay, when's the plane leaving?"

"I'll make some calls. You'll have to go in my luggage until we take off." 

"You're enjoying this arent' you?" asked Annie.

While Eyal was on the phone. Annie and Ryan spoke.

"This is more about me than it is about you. It looks like Caitlyn has been plotting against me and using my company's access to sell secrets for the last four to five years. I can't believe it's taken this long for me to realize it."

"But why involve me?"

"I'll let you know as soon as we figure it out. Here's a clean phone. Toss it after our first call and have one waiting as a back up once you get out of here."

Annie nodded.

"I've used a 's bulletin board in the past. My handle is nutzoverlabs."

"Just get your heart fixed."

He swept her hair out of her face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "The only good thing to come out of this is meeting you."

She smiled and looked down.

"It was nice to have met you too. Maybe we can have that dinner when this is all over."

Ryan leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

"That's all the incentive I need to get to the bottom of this."

Eyal cleared his throat.

"Leaving in 2 hours. We need to get to the airstrip."

"Take care of her."

Eyal nodded.

"Wait, here's a Mossad file on the Altans. Maybe it can help. They were from Chechnya," said Eyal as he handed Ryan an envelope.

"Thanks, I owe you," said Ryan before he left.

/ /

Annie made it safely onto Eyal's chartered flight back to Israel, but not before she had Eyal go to one of her storage units to grab her cash and passports. It was a bit of a gamble to count on him not revealing her identities, but she needed some documents.

When out of D.C. airspace, Eyal opened the luggage closet and pulled out his duffel. He could see how the last few days had taken a toll on her. Eyal helped Annie out of her bag.

"I spoke with Rivka."

"What? Why? She hates me."

"Not true. She wants you to work for us."

"What?"

Annie had to admit it was tempting. She spoke Hebrew fluently and a slew of other languages that Mossad valued in their operatives. She had a tumultuous time at the CIA and they obviously would rather jump to conclusions about her than give her trust. Maybe it was time she moved on. Why did she even return anyway? What was it that made it home?

"Rivka has conditions of course. You need to have surgery and go through our debriefs and pass our physical after you recover."

"How long will that take?"

"Well, I'm no real doctor, but you're otherwise in good health, so five or six months with physical therapy?"

"Five or six months?"

"You didn't think this was a weekend trip did you? It's heart surgery Neshema!"

"No, but . . . I've lost so much of my life already. . . "

Annie sighed. "I guess another half a year isn't that much in the grand scheme of things."

"No it's not and you'll be healthy again."

"Okay, I have conditions too."

"Name them."

"I want to work with only you."

"I'm flattered! We will be working together. I wouldn't have it any other way. What else? You said conditions."

"I need to know that my sister is safe, that she's kept out of all of this."

Eyal nodded.

"I don't want to do this work indefinitely. There has to be an end. You were right Eyal when you said it was sad of me to say that being a spy was all I had. When this is over, what next? What's the next disaster or drama that will take over my life? When did my job take over my life?"

"I can work with that. I thought you'd want a fancy car and huge allowance for fancy clothes and purses. Tell me when you want out Annie and I'll help you get out. I told you what the goal of a spy is. . . to know when to get out. I think all of this was meant to happen. . . you and me partners."

"Kismet," they both said at the same time.

"But I can't go out like this. I need to clear my name and get to the bottom of this."

"Let me and Ryan worry about clearing your name. You worry about your surgery and recover. Let other people help you for a change."

Annie nodded. "It took all this to happen for me to see that you were right."

"Of course I am, Israelis are always right," said Eyal with a wink. "Now really, you can rest. You're safe."

"I'd love to lie on the beach for a few days and eat falafels before that surgery. I need to work on my tan."

Eyal smiled. "I'll see what we can do about that."

She fell asleep quickly. . . Eyal looked over her as she slept the worry on his face came, he didn't want her to see it earlier. She was always coming in and out of his life and he looked forward to each encounter. She was his friend and she was important to him. More than he ever let her know. His fear for her this time was concrete. Her heart wasn't strong enough to push out the blood that pooled into it. The paleness in her face, lips, and skin and the coldness of her hands told him that. She may not just need surgery, she may need a new heart, but he wasn't a cardiologist and he didn't want to alarm her.


End file.
